


Finding Sunshine (YoonSeok)

by Trash_4_Yoongi



Category: B.A.P, GOT7, 방탄소년단 | Bangtan Boys | BTS
Genre: Blind Character, Blind Date, Blindness, Bottom Jung Hoseok | J-Hope, Cussing, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Humor, Fluff and Smut, Insecure Kim Namjoon | RM, Jung Hoseok | J-Hope Is Bad at Feelings, Kim Namjoon | RM Is Bad at Feelings, Kim Namjoon | RM Is a Little Shit, M/M, Min Yoongi | Suga Is Bad at Feelings, Min Yoongi | Suga Is Whipped, Name-Calling, Opposites Attract, Pansexual Character, Romantic Fluff, Swearing, Top Min Yoongi | Suga, Tsundere Min Yoongi | Suga
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-15
Updated: 2019-03-20
Packaged: 2019-04-23 05:51:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 45
Words: 52,969
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14325975
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Trash_4_Yoongi/pseuds/Trash_4_Yoongi
Summary: Yoongi goes on a blind date, unaware of how blind the date actually is.





	1. Chapter 1

"Why do you think I need to go on a blind date?" Yoongi asked with a perked eyebrow."I don't need a girlfriend. I'm fine on my own."

"You need a date because there might be someone in this world who can tame you." Jimin said with a small sigh."And it won't be a girl. I have a friend who knows a guy who needs help getting a date. He'll get his friend to meet you somewhere."

"No. I won't do it." Yoongi was not really the sociable type. He was very bad at interacting with people, so he thought a blind date was a terrible idea."You know how rude and blunt I am. I'll just end up pissing the guy off."

Jimin shrugged just a little."I know that happened the last three times I tried to set you up on blind dates, but it might actually work out this time."

"Jimin, no." Yoongi's tone became very stern."I don't want to go on a blind date again." He just wanted to give up and not even attempt to find love.

"Hyung, please." Jimin pleaded."You don't have to try to woo the guy. Just at least try to be his friend."

"No." Yoongi was sure that it would end badly, so he really didn't want to try.

But Jimin was being persistent."Yoongi-hyung, just one more time. Please." He really wished Yoongi would get a date and stop being so frowny all the time.

Yoongi groaned."What will it take to get you to stop pestering me?"

"Go on the blind date." Jimin answered with a smile.

"Is that my only option?" Yoongi had a really bad feeling about this.

"Yup." Jimin felt triumphant when he could see Yoongi give up his protesting."Don't worry, Hyung. It'll be okay." He pulled out his phone."I'll text my friend and let him know that you've agreed."

\---

Yoongi frowned as he looked at himself in the mirror. Did he look okay? He made sure his hair was neat. Well, neat enough. His outfit was simple, just a T-shirt and jeans. Why was he even worrying about his appearance? Things probably weren't going to go well. Yoongi had never been able to successfully get a date before because he always ended up saying rude things. He tended to offend people or just come across as an asshole when all he tried to do was be honest.

Checking the time, he groaned. He was already late. He was supposed to be at the coffee shop five minutes ago. He had overslept because, well, he loved to sleep. He had taken an afternoon nap that was only supposed to be two hours, but it turned into five hours. He rubbed his face with both hands before groaning for the umpteenth time and heading out of his house. As he walked to the coffee shop, he wondered what the guy was like. Why was he unable to get dates? Was he rude too? Yoongi hoped not. Despite being a bit rude himself, he couldn't stand dealing with other rude people.

When he got to the coffee shop, he glanced around the interior. They had picked this coffee shop for one specific reason. Yoongi's friend Jin worked here and was going to point out his date. That way, Yoongi wouldn't approach the wrong person and seem like a total doofus. That had never happened before, but it was a fear. Yoongi didn't want to embarrass himself. After glancing around, he looked toward the counter, spotting Jin. The older man was leaning on the counter a bit, looking bored as there were no customers ordering drinks at the moment.

When Jin noticed Yoongi, he waved with a soft smile. Then, he pointed toward a table in a corner. There was a lone guy sitting at the table with what looked like a cup of nothing but whipped cream and sprinkles. Yoongi stepped over to the table and tried to remember the guy's name. Jimin had texted it to him earlier today."Um, Hoseok?" he asked with uncertainty.

The guy lifted his head a little and looked in Yoongi's directly but not seeming to actually focus on him."Yeah, that's me. Are you Yoongi?" He heard no response."Um, I was told that you're older than me. So I guess I should call you hyung." His mouth formed such a sweet smile.

"God damn. What kind of smile is that?" Yoongi grimaced a little."Did you eat the fucking sun?" He could already tell that this guy was too bright and cheerful for him. This probably wasn't going to go well.

"Well, no. I don't think the sun is edible." Hoseok said with a chuckle."Did you already get something to drink? Or no?"

Yoongi perked an eyebrow. Did this guy not use his eyes? Clearly, Yoongi hadn't gotten a drink yet. His hands were both empty. But he tried to keep his sarcasm tucked away."Not yet. I wanted to make sure I knew where to sit before getting anything."

Hoseok made a small hum then felt around the table until his fingers found his cup."You should get yourself a drink." he suggested.

"Uh, yeah, okay. I'll be right back." Yoongi felt so awkward. He headed up to the counter and frowned at Jin."Hyung, how the hell am I supposed to talk to this guy?"

Jin cocked his head a little to the side."What's the problem?"

"The problem is that he's a fucking ray of sunshine." Yoongi didn't know how to handle such a person.

"That's good. Maybe he'll be able to tolerate your foul mouth." Jin already knew what Yoongi wanted, so he started preparing the drink."Just try to be nice. Start a casual conversation, Yoongi. It's not that hard."

"Yes, it is." Yoongi didn't know how to start up a nice conversation with a stranger."What the fuck am I even supposed to say to him?"

Once the drink was ready, Jin set it on the counter."I don't think it matters too much, as long as you aren't mean."

Yoongi pulled money out of his pocket and paid for the drink."Fine. Whatever." Stepping back over to the table, he seated himself and stared at Hoseok for a few seconds, trying to think of what he should say. Having no clue of how to start a conversation with this guy, he said the first thing that popped into his mind."Why the fuck are you eating whipped cream and sprinkles?"


	2. Chapter 2

_"Why the fuck are you eating whipped cream and sprinkles?"_

Hoseok giggled cutely at the question."I like whipped cream and sprinkles." he answered with such a sweet smile."Besides, I'm less likely to make a big mess if I knock the cup over."

"Are you just really clumsy or something?" Yoongi didn't think it was hard to avoid knocking over a cup. Maybe that was just him though.

Hoseok shrugged his shoulders just a little."Well, I can't really see what I'm doing, so I guess clumsiness comes with that." He slowly ate a spoonful of the whipped cream and sprinkles, seeming to be careful to not miss his mouth.

Yoongi perked an eyebrow, not really catching on."What, are you fucking blind or something?" he asked with a really sarcastic tone.

Hoseok stuck his spoon into the cup."Well, yeah, I am blind."

Yoongi instantly felt like an insensitive jerk."Man, I'm sorry. I had no idea." He lowered his gaze and scratched the back of his neck, feeling awkward.

"It's okay." Hoseok lightly tapped his fingers on the table."I mean, people don't typically expect their blind date to actually be blind."

Yoongi was at a loss for what to discuss now."How did you, um, get here? Are you able to get around on your own?" He hoped he didn't sound stupid. He didn't know anything about the handicap of being blind.

"My friend brought me here. I'm supposed to call him later if I need help getting home. That is, if you are not up for taking me home." Hoseok explained."But anyway, let's worry about that later."

Yoongi took a sip of his coffee and hissed quietly as it burned his tongue."Yeah, okay. So what are we even supposed to talk about? I mean, there are typical first date questions we could ask each other, but I don't think 'what's your favorite color' is a good thing to ask a blind person."

"Green." Hoseok stated simply.

"Huh?" Yoongi was a little taken off guard.

Hoseok swirled his spoon around in his cup."My favorite color is green."

"But you're blind." Yoongi was confused.

Hoseok's sweet smile faltered slightly, but he fixed it."I haven't always been blind. In fact, I've only been blind for a couple months. So the darkness is still new to me."

Yoongi felt a sting of pity."Is it okay if I ask what happened? How did you become blind?" He hoped he wasn't making Hoseok uncomfortable or offending him in some way.

"It's fine." Hoseok knew he needed to get used to talking about it. Yoongi wasn't going to be the only person he'd ever meet who would want to know what happened to him."I was in a car accident. I was sitting in the passenger seat." He fidgeted with his fingers as he spoke."The windshield shattered, and glass went into my eyes."

"Oh...Ouch..." Yoongi really had no idea of what he was supposed to say.

"So being blind is still new to me. I need help with a lot of things. Even something as simple as picking out my clothes. I have no idea what color I am even wearing because my friend didn't tell me." Hoseok felt the front of his shirt as if he was trying to recognize it by the feel, but he really had no clue."What color is my shirt?"

Yoongi took a cautious sip of his coffee, not burning his tongue this time. Then, he answered."Your shirt is red. Bright red."

"Oh. Cute. I like red." Hoseok seemed to be quite happy to know that he was wearing red."What color is your shirt?"

Yoongi honestly had to glance down to remember what shirt he was wearing. He hadn't cared too much when he had put it on."Black."

Hoseok made a small hum."You like black?"

Yoongi nodded then immediately felt stupid for nodding to a blind person."Yeah. Black and white are my favorite colors. I guess that's pretty boring."

"I don't think that's boring at all. We all like different things." Hoseok was already enjoying Yoongi's company. It was nice to relax and chat with someone.

They spent quite a while just chatting and getting to know simple things about each other. Yoongi was actually quite surprised with the fact that he hadn't made Hoseok hate him yet. He tended to make enemies much easier than friends. When they both decided it was time to head home, Yoongi wanted to make sure Hoseok would get home safely."I'll walk you home." he offered, more like stated.

Hoseok smiled widely."I would appreciate that. Thanks." When they both stood to head out, Hoseok felt Yoongi grab his hand to lead him along. He moved close to him and felt their height difference when Yoongi's shoulder touched his arm. Reaching his free hand over, he touched Yoongi's shoulder then felt his way along the guy's neck and up to the top of his head.

"What are you doing?" Yoongi wasn't really comfortable with being touched. He wasn't a touchy person.

A giggle slipped out from Hoseok."I just realized how short you are."

"I'm not short!" Yoongi snapped, which he regretted when Hoseok retracted his hand."I mean, my lack of height isn't my fault. Damn genetics."

Hoseok felt nervous, hoping he didn't offend Yoongi."Sorry. I think it's cute."

Yoongi grimaced."You think the weirdest things are cute. Anyway, let's just get you home."

"Okay." Hoseok walked with Yoongi, having no idea where he was going. He thought this was going well enough. That is, until he walked into the frame of the coffee shop's front door while trying to exit."Oww..." he whined.

"Shit. My bad." Yoongi reached over to grab Hoseok's arm with his other hand to guide him through the door.

Needless to say, their trip to Hoseok's house was hectic. Hoseok ended up walking into a pole and tripping over a few different things because Yoongi wasn't very good at guiding him. Yoongi even expressed worry that he might not get Hoseok home alive. Still, it was a relief when they got there."Thanks for walking me home, Yoongi-hyung."

"I don't think you should be thanking me. If this walk had taken any longer, I might have gotten you run over or something." Yoongi felt terrible for being a bad guide.

Hoseok made a small wave with his hand."Don't worry about it. I'm still in one piece, so I think you did an okay job."

Yoongi sighed with relief."So are we, um...going to have a second date?" He always got turned down for second dates. So he wouldn't be surprised at all if Hoseok rejected the idea too.

But there was no rejection."I would like that." Hoseok fished a key out of his pocket and motioned toward the front door to his house."Can you give me a hand and unlock the door please?"

Yoongi was completely shocked that Hoseok wanted a second date. But he was snapped out of his shock when he was asked for help."Oh, sure." He took the key from Hoseok and unlocked the door. Then, he gave the key back to him."Let's exchange numbers real quick. We can decide when and where to have our next date later."


	3. Chapter 3

Yoongi groaned as he wiped off the counter at work. He kept thinking about Hoseok, wondering if he could really be nice enough to date a blind guy. He didn't want to seem like he was pitying the guy, though he supposed he kind of was. Still, he also didn't know if he could manage to be nice and not say things that would sound mean or rude. He was looking down at the counter and lost in his thoughts when a customer approached."Welcome to Burger Palace. Order when you're ready." His tone probably made it obvious that he didn't want to be here right now.

"How much is a cheese burger and fry combo?" the customer asked with a very curious tone.

"The price is on the menu." Yoongi didn't understand why customers asked such dumb questions.

There was a small giggle."You know I can't see the menu, Yoongi-hyung."

Yoongi finally paid enough attention to realize that the customer's voice was familiar. Lifting his gaze to view the customer, he smacked himself in the forehead for being an idiot."Fuck. I'm sorry, Hoseok. I wasn't looking."

"That's okay. I didn't know you work here. I am relieved to recognize your voice." Hoseok smiled happily."That makes this so much easier. I thought I was going to make a fool of myself."

Yoongi glanced around before returning his gaze to Hoseok."Are you here by yourself?"

"Well, yeah. My friend drove me here, but he's going to run a couple errands while I eat." Hoseok answered."He offered to come in and order for me, but I need to get used to doing some things on my own."

"Ah, okay. So you want a burger and fry combo, right?" When Hoseok nodded, Yoongi selected the correct buttons on the register."That comes with a drink. What size would you like the drink to be?"

"Small." Hoseok didn't think he would need much to drink."Can you fill up the drink for me? I don't want to make a mess."

Yoongi pressed the button to show the total for Hoseok's order."Yeah, sure." He pulled a card out of his pocket and swiped it, causing the total to clear.

"Great. How much do I owe?" Hoseok pulled his wallet out of his back pocket.

Yoongi made a small wave of his hand out of habit."You owe nothing. It's on me."

"Are you sure?" Hoseok thought Yoongi was too kind. It made him smile."You don't need to pay for my food."

"Oh, I didn't." Yoongi felt himself smile a little as well."I'm the manager. I have a manager card that allows me to get one free meal each day. It's supposed to be for my lunch, but I used it for your order."

"You're the manager? That's cool." Hoseok's smile became a bit brighter."But you will have to pay for your lunch now." He slipped his wallet back into his pocket.

Yoongi felt like he was mesmerized by Hoseok's smile. It was so bright, like the sun itself."Don't worry about it. I don't eat much, so my lunch is pretty cheap. Now have a seat. I'll have someone bring your food to you when it's ready."

"Oh, you don't have to do that. I can take it to the table myself." Hoseok didn't want to be too much of a bother.

"Nonsense." Yoongi was doing his best to be helpful. He didn't want Hoseok to have any difficulties. Besides, he didn't even want to think of the mess that would need to be cleaned if Hoseok dropped his drink."What do you want to drink?"

Hoseok sighed with a smile still on his lips."Coke please."

"Okay. Now have a seat. You came at a good time. All the tables are empty." Yoongi watched Hoseok walk away from the counter and carefully maneuver to the nearest table. He turned to the dispenser and filled a small cup with coke before putting a lid on it. Grabbing a straw, he took the drink to the table and set it down in front of Hoseok."I put your straw next to your cup. Try not to knock your drink over."

"Did you just say that cause I can't see my drink?" Hoseok sounded a bit offended.

Yoongi bit his lower lip."Uh, well..."

"I'm only teasing you." Hoseok giggled then felt the table until his fingers found his cup and straw."I think I can manage from here. Thank you, Hyung."

Yoongi felt his cheeks heat up and was glad that the blind guy couldn't see him blush. He couldn't believe he just got teased by a blind guy. Making his way back behind the counter, he glared at Jimin, who was smirking at him."Don't even speak to me right now. Get back to the line."

Jimin chuckled and returned to his spot on the food line, preparing Hoseok's order."Tae, are those fries done yet?"

"Yup." Taehyung scooped the fries into a paper cup and groaned quietly."I hate working here. Smelling the food makes me hungry." he complained.

Yoongi stepped back to the line and started throwing together a sloppy salad. He made quick work of the salad, rang it up on the register, then paid for it. Technically, he wasn't supposed to ring up his own meals unless he was using the manager card, but no one really cared."Jimin, when Jungkook gets back from his break, tell him to take over the front register." he commanded."And, Tae, get your butt back to the drive-thru. Jimin can manage the line on his own."

Taehyung rolled his eyes and returned to the drive-thru window, greeting a customer. Jimin placed a wrapped burger and the cup of fries onto a tray and grinned at Yoongi."I see you're taking your lunch break now. Are you taking this food to your boyfriend?"

Yoongi frowned deeply."Yes, I'm taking my lunch break. And he is not my boyfriend, you buffoon." Yoongi placed his salad onto the tray then took the tray from Jimin. With a huff, he stepped around the counter and over to the table where Hoseok was seated. He set down the tray then seated himself."I hope you don't mind me joining you."

Hoseok lifted his head a little to face Yoongi, hearing that the other guy was in front of him."I don't mind at all."

Yoongi grabbed his salad from the tray and the plastic fork he had placed with it. As they both began to eat, he found himself staring at Hoseok a few times. He was actually quite lucky Hoseok was blind. Otherwise, he would have been caught staring."So it must have been hard for you to look at mirrors before you lost your sight."

Hoseok tilted his head a bit to the side."What makes you say that?"

Yoongi poked at his salad a little."It can hurt your eyes to look at the sun, and you are just as bright." His poor attempt at flirting was rewarded by a small giggle and the faintest tint of pink in Hoseok's cheeks.


	4. Chapter 4

"So you two are going on your second date tonight?" Jimin asked expectantly."Namjoon-hyung is glad Hoseok-hyung is getting out of the house more lately. This is so good."

Yoongi sighed and stared down at his burger."I don't know if this is going to work, Jimin." He was highly doubtful of his building bond with Hoseok."I don't know what to do with him."

Jimin shrugged his shoulders."Just be nice to him. Try to flirt a little."

"Maybe Hyung needs someone to teach him how to flirt." Jungkook stepped over to the table and grinned cheekily."I can help you with that."

"I don't need to learn how to flirt." Yoongi's expression twisted in annoyance."I don't flirt. End of discussion."

Jungkook eyed Jimin and chuckled."This is hopeless, Jimin-hyung. Yoongi-hyung will never have a successful relationship."

"You're right, Kookie." Jimin agreed with a slight smirk on his lips."Yoongi-hyung is doomed to be alone forever."

Yoongi slammed a hand flat down onto the table, capturing the attention of both boys, as well as some customers who were trying to enjoy their cheap meals."So what if I'm alone forever? If that happens, I won't have to worry about upsetting anyone with my poor attitude. Just face the fact that my social skills suck ass."

"You don't need good social skills to get someone to like you, Hyung." Jimin wanted to encourage Yoongi.

But Jungkook scoffed."He needs better social skills if he's trying to get with a blind man. Just being cute won't work because he can't see anything."

"Guys, that wouldn't work anyway because I'm not cute." Yoongi pushed his food away and groaned."Now I've lost my appetite."

With a sigh, Jimin gave Jungkook's arm a light smack."Go away, troublemaker."

"What will you do if I don't?" Jungkook asked with much defiance.

Jimin narrowed his eyes at the younger guy."I'll shove my foot so far down your throat that my toes will come out your ass."

"That's a scary mental image." Jungkook said with a chuckle."I would almost feel threatened if I thought your legs were long enough for that to happen, but you're too short.

"Yah!" Jimin smacked Jungkook's arm again. He frowned as Jungkook laughed then walked away to get back to work."Anyway, just don't try too hard, Yoongi-hyung." Jimin put his attention back on the older guy."Just try to hold his hand or put your arm around him. Compliment him."

"Hold his hand? I already do that to lead him around." Yoongi didn't see how that would affect anything.

"No, no, Hyung." Jimin rolled his eyes then smiled."Hold his hand while you guys eat or something."

\---

Yoongi took a deep breath to calm his nerves as he approached the front door of Hoseok's house. He held a bouquet of daisies in one hand as he raised his other hand to knock on the door. His nervous mind tried to think of what he should say to Hoseok, but he came up with nothing. When the door was opened, Yoongi was greeted with a face he didn't recognize."Um..."

"Oh, hi. You must be Yoongi." the unfamiliar man said with a wide smile."I'm Namjoon."

"Namjoon? Oh. Jimin's friend." Yoongi knew he had heard Jimin mention Namjoon earlier.

"Yup." Namjoon eyed Yoongi from head to toe then back to his head again."Wow, you're tiny. I mean, Jimin mentioned before that you're short, but he never said you were so skinny."

Yoongi narrowed his eyes at Namjoon."Well, excuse me for being vertically challenged. And I try to gain a little weight, but it never works."

Namjoon reached out and ruffled Yoongi's hair."How cute. You know, I was hoping to help Hoseok get laid, but now that I see you, I'm not so sure. I mean, how can I expect him to get a good dicking if you're so small?"

"I'm not small!!" Yoongi shouted as his face turned bright red."I am perfectly capable of giving a damn great dicking, but that's not happening!!"

"Well, that's good to know." Hoseok said as he carefully came around the corner, moving slowly to keep himself from crashing into anything or falling."Ready to go?" He smiled so brightly.

Yoongi's face turned even redder, if that was even possible. He stepped over to Hoseok and shoved the bouquet of daisies against his chest rather forcefully."I brought you flowers." he spat out."Let's go." Not waiting for any sort of response, he grabbed Hoseok's wrist and pulled him along.

On their way out the door, Hoseok smacked his shoulder against the door frame."Slow down, Yoongi-hyung. I don't want to trip."

Yoongi stopped and grumbled."Sorry." He didn't know how to handle how embarrassed he felt. He had gotten irritated with Namjoon, and it really embarrassed him that Hoseok had heard what he said."I didn't mean what I said about the...um...dicking..."

Hoseok grinned as a soft laugh escaped him."Don't worry about it. It's far too soon for that anyway." He thought Yoongi was so cute. He could tell that he was embarrassed. His behavior made that obvious."We'll see if we get to that."

Yoongi mumbled under his breath and lowered his gaze."Yeah, okay." Yoongi wasn't really hoping for that to happen. But he wouldn't be opposed to it. It was just too soon for either of them to be thinking about having sex together."So I have to be honest. I have no clue where we're going. I didn't make any plans for this date."

"That's fine. Let's just go to the park for a while then get something to eat." Hoseok thought simple dates were the best."We can chat and enjoy the fresh air."


	5. Chapter 5

To say Yoongi was at a loss for words would be an understatement. He had zero clue of what he should say to Hoseok. The blind man just held his hand and walked closely by his side. It was so quiet between them as they got to the park. Yoongi found himself staring at Hoseok as they walked along, which was dumb. He really should watch where he was going. That was important, especially since Hoseok was trusting Yoongi to lead him along. Still, despite that, Yoongi couldn't help but peer at the attractive male walking with him.

"I bet the stars look really pretty." Hoseok said with a soft smile spread across his lips."Are they pretty tonight, Yoongi-hyung?"

Hoseok's voice broke Yoongi away from his staring. Despite not being caught, he felt embarrassed that he had been staring so much."They're stars, Hoseok. Of course they're pretty." His tone accidentally came out sounding a bit sarcastic. Wait, wasn't he supposed to try to flirt? How was he supposed to do that? Maybe he really should have allowed Jimin and Jungkook to help him.

Wanting to be a little closer to Yoongi to enjoy their date, Hoseok interlaced their fingers together. However, this did the opposite of what he wanted. A pout overcame Hoseok's lips when he felt Yoongi's hand quickly jerk away from his own."Sorry, Hyung."

Yoongi had reacted without thinking. He wasn't used to holding hands with anyone. So it took him by surprise when Hoseok had interlaced their fingers together."No, no, don't apologize." He scratched the back of his head and sighed."Shit, I didn't mean to do that." Yoongi sure felt stupid for jerking his hand away from Hoseok's like that.

"I just wanted to hold your hand more." Hoseok felt his cheeks heat up just a little, having no idea that Yoongi's cheeks were pretty hot as well."If you don't want to hold my hand, it's fine. I can try to follow along if you make a little noise. I know it must be weird to hold my hand and lead me around all--"

"Shut up." Yoongi interrupted Hoseok's babbling."Fucking hell, Hoseok. I'll hold your hand." He grabbed Hoseok's hand and frowned deeply, feeling embarrassed and a bit shy.

"You don't mind?" Hoseok didn't want Yoongi to be doing anything he didn't want to do.

Yoongi rolled his eyes, even though he knew Hoseok wouldn't know it."I wouldn't have come on this date if I didn't want to hold your hand, loser."

Hoseok's lips formed his sweet smile again."So I'm a loser?"

"Yeah." Yoongi bit his lower lip when Hoseok giggled, not knowing if the cute male was happy or laughing at him. It made him feel frustrated because he didn't know how he was supposed to react. Why did dating have to be so hard for him?

Interlacing their fingers for the second time, Hoseok was pleased when Yoongi didn't pull away this time."You have really manly hands." he commented. He loved the way Yoongi's hands felt."They make me wonder how you look." He wished he could see Yoongi, but it was simply due to curiosity. He didn't really care much what Yoongi looked like.

"I just look like an average person." Yoongi didn't ever think of himself as handsome or attractive."Maybe I'm lucky that you can't see me. I've been told that I'm intimidating."

"Intimidating? Really?" Hoseok didn't seem to understand that."You're so nice. How are you intimidating?"

Yoongi shrugged his shoulders out of habit before answering."I guess it's because I don't smile much, and I use a bit of foul language. But that's just the way I am."

"Well, I don't think you're intimidating at all." Hoseok stopped walking, glad to feel Yoongi stop as well."I think you're really sweet, Yoongi-hyung. It's okay that you don't smile much, but I do hope that I can get you to smile when we're together."

"But does my foul language bother you?" Yoongi didn't want to make Hoseok uncomfortable. He was trying to be considerate."If you want me to stop cussing, I'll try."

Hoseok shook his head."It doesn't bother me." He inhaled deeply then let the breath out slowly through his nose, like he was about to say something really important and wanted to calm his nerves first."Yoongi-hyung, I think our friends did well when they set us up for that first date."

Yoongi smiled just slightly and only for a second."I think so too. Honestly, I was opposed to it. I have been set up on numerous blind dates, and none of them went well. I always end up offending my date or just pissing them off completely."

That made Hoseok chuckle."That's actually kind of funny."

"No, it's not." Yoongi groaned."Why is dating so hard? I kept thinking I was just better off alone. Each time a date went badly, I felt like there must be something wrong with me. Something about me keeps driving people away."

Hoseok noticed the change in Yoongi's voice. The older male sounded a little sad."There's nothing wrong with you. And you haven't driven everyone away. I'm still here." He was really starting to like Yoongi. He hoped they could continue to go on pleasant dates and get to know each other better."Now I have a problem."

Yoongi slightly perked an eyebrow at Hoseok."What's the problem?" He hoped nothing was actually wrong.

"I want to kiss your cheek, but I don't know where it is." Hoseok thought Yoongi was a really sweet guy and wanted to express it. He wanted to show Yoongi that he liked him.

Yoongi nearly choked on his breath. Did Hoseok seriously want to kiss his cheek? He hesitated then shyly leaned in close to the attractive male's face. He turned his head to put his cheek right in front of Hoseok's face, feeling the other's breath on his skin."It's right in front of you."

Hoseok puckered his lips and cautiously leaned forward until his lips came in contact with soft flesh. He really hoped he was kissing the right spot. Giving a light kiss, he pulled back afterward."Oh boy. That was a little awkward, but thanks."

"Just a little awkward?" Yoongi felt like his heart was going to leap out of his chest."Maybe next time I should guide you or just kiss your cheek instead. You came dangerously close to my mouth."

That definitely caused Hoseok to blush."Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to."

Yoongi used his free hand to fan himself dramatically."Man, fuck this awkwardness. Let's just get some food."

Hoseok couldn't help but laugh as Yoongi began tugging him along. He really loved the way Yoongi reacted to everything. He could imagine that Yoongi probably had the cutest expressions.


	6. Chapter 6

"Damn it. I'm really sorry, Hoseok." Yoongi felt like such an idiot. Why did he keep screwing things up? Why did he keep making a fool of himself?

"It's okay, Yoongi-hyung. Really." Hoseok thought it was funny that Yoongi kept messing things up by accident. However, he also thought it was a bit sad that Yoongi felt like he had to apologize all the time."I'm fine. I'm not hurt, so it's okay."

Yoongi had misled Hoseok when they had gotten to a restaurant. He wanted to help Hoseok get seated, but he ended up just causing Hoseok to miss the chair and fall down onto the floor."Are you sure? God, I feel like a fucking moron."

"Yes, I'm sure. Don't worry so much." Hoseok smiled and felt around a bit. He managed to find the chair and got seated."I just hope people aren't staring at us. That would be embarrassing."

With red cheeks, Yoongi knew that some people were indeed looking at them. Though, he was sure that their attention was more drawn by his foul language than Hoseok's fall. After all, this was a pretty nice restaurant. Most people didn't cuss or speak inappropriately in such a place."No, no, don't worry about that." Yoongi stepped around the table to his own seat and sat down. He hung his head low. How was he supposed to do this? It was beginning to feel hopeless. He liked Hoseok. He was starting to grow closer to him, but he kept doing things wrong. Maybe Hoseok would be better off with someone who would be better at taking care of him. That was a depressing thought.

Hoseok noticed that Yoongi got quiet and hoped nothing was wrong. Well, maybe his date was just busy looking at the menu."Hyung, do they serve green tea here?" he wondered.

Yoongi felt like smacking himself. Why didn't he think to tell Hoseok the types of drinks that were served here? He knew the blind man couldn't just check the menu."Fuck..." he cursed quietly to himself. Looking at the drinks on the back of the menu, he sighed."Yeah, they do."

It was easy for Hoseok to pick up on Yoongi's tone. He sounded upset or down."That's good. I like green tea." He placed his hands onto his lap, fidgeting with his fingers. Their date had started so sweetly, but now, it just felt awkward, like things had taken a turn and begun to go badly."Yoongi-hyung, are you okay?"

"Of course I am." Yoongi lied. He held such a grumpy expression, mad at himself. He was so disappointed in the way he was handling this date. Why couldn't he just be a helpful, considerate boyfriend? Wait, he wasn't Hoseok's boyfriend. They hadn't made anything official yet.

Hoseok could tell by Yoongi's tone that he wasn't telling the truth."Do you want to talk about it? Talking might help." He really wanted to try to make Yoongi feel better, whatever was making him unhappy.

"There's nothing to talk about, Hoseok. I'm fine." Yoongi said with a cranky grumble."Everything's fine."

"Okay. If you say so." Hoseok didn't want to pressure Yoongi into talking about whatever may be bothering him. That could just make things worse. Maybe he would simply ask him again after dinner. He was alerted to the sound of someone approaching the table. Most likely their server.

"Good evening. My name is Yuri." the waitress spoke sweetly with a beautiful smile."I'll be your server this evening. Would you two like to start with something to drink?"

Hoseok thought the server had a very lovely voice. He imagined she was quite pretty."I would like green tea." he said with a soft smile.

Yoongi did his best not to grumble as he stated what he wanted to drink."I would like sweet lemon tea." Despite his effort, there was still a slight grumble in his tone.

Yuri wrote down their drinks on her little notepad."Do you two know what you would like to order, or do you need a few minutes to decide?"

"We need a few minutes." Hoseok told her. He had no idea what types of food were served here. Though, he could smell lots of delicious aromas.

"Alright. I'll get your drinks while you decide." That said, Yuri walked away.

Yoongi's fingers fumbled with the bottom right corner of his menu. He felt awkward and like he was being nothing but a disappointment. He highly doubted Hoseok could actually be enjoying this date."D-do you want me to read the menu t-to you?" He mentally cursed himself for stuttering. He couldn't help it. Whenever he felt nervous or uneasy, he always ended up cussing a lot or becoming a stuttering mess.

Hoseok was surprised to hear that stutter. He thought it was cute. But he was also aware that it was unusual for Yoongi to stutter. At least, he had never heard Yoongi sound this way before. It worried him."No, it's okay. I'll just get the same thing as you. It'll be easier for both of us that way."

\---

Needless to say, Yoongi felt like shit for the rest of their date. Why was he so bad at this? Why did he feel like such a failure? He really hoped Hoseok wouldn't hate him after how disappointing this date had been. Yoongi was quite sullen by the time he got Hoseok back home."Sleep well, Hoseok." he told the cute male before turning to walk away.

"Yoongi-hyung, wait." Hoseok really didn't want the night to end like this. He wanted things to end happily."Please talk to me." He held a hand out in Yoongi's direction."I know something's wrong. You've been sad since we got to the restaurant."

Yoongi had hoped Hoseok wouldn't notice the way he was feeling, but he supposed it was rather obvious. He peered at Hoseok's extended hand for a short moment before gently grabbing it."It's nothing."

"Don't lie to me, Hyung." Hoseok's tone switched and became just a little stern."Tell me the truth. Why are you upset?"

"It doesn't matter, okay?" Yoongi didn't want to say this because it made him feel stupid. He didn't want Hoseok to think he was stupid.

"It  _does_ matter." Hoseok gave Yoongi's hand a light squeeze."Tell me."

Yoongi jerked his hand away from Hoseok and narrowed his eyes."Why do I have to tell you? It's fucking stupid." Here came the cussing. He didn't know how to express himself well, so this was what happened."This date was complete bullshit because I'm such a dumbass."

"Hyung--" Hoseok tried to speak, but Yoongi interrupted.

"This is so fucking stupid." Yoongi clenched his hands into fists down by his sides."I'm such a little bitch for being upset by this, but I can't fucking help it. Damn it, Hoseok." He blurted the next words without thinking."I want to be your boyfriend, but I keep fucking everything up. You deserve someone who can help you and take care of you. I can't do that shit."

Hoseok reached both hands forward and felt around until he found Yoongi's shoulders."Hyung, shut up." he said with a forceful tone that was unusual for him to use. And it was effective. Yoongi stopped talking."I may need help with a lot of things, but what I don't need help with is knowing who can help me. You can help me. You've been doing fine so far." Hoseok pulled Yoongi close, wrapping his arms around him. Even now, he was surprised by how small Yoongi was. His attitude made him seem much bigger than he actually was. Hoseok liked that about him."And if you want to be my boyfriend, all you have to do is ask."

Yoongi's cheeks heated up as he was being hugged."Hoseok, do you...D-do you really mean that?" He shyly wrapped his arms around Hoseok in return."Be my boyfriend."

Hoseok giggled softly."I thought you were going to ask."

"I'm not asking." Yoongi tightened his arms around Hoseok just a bit."That's too embarrassing. Just be my boyfriend."

Hoseok tightened his arms around Yoongi as well."Okay. I'll be your boyfriend."

"So, uh, are you going to come inside, or are you two going to fuck on the sidewalk?" Namjoon's voice interrupted the moment.

Yoongi quickly pulled away from Hoseok, breaking the warm embrace."Fuck off!"

"Which one?" Hoseok asked with a chuckle.

"Both of you!" Turning, Yoongi stormed away, feeling completely embarrassed.

Namjoon just laughed as he got Hoseok inside.   
  



	7. Chapter 7

"So how are things going between you and Hoseok-hyung?" Jimin asked curiously as he handed a bag of food to Yoongi.

Yoongi turned and handed the food out the drive-thru window, telling the customer to have a nice day. Then, he sighed."I don't know. I mean, we're officially dating now, but--"

Jimin interrupted by letting out a loud cheer."Yay! You finally have a boyfriend!"

"Jimin, shut up!" Yoongi hissed, being embarrassed. He quickly glanced around, hoping no one heard the cheer.

"Yoongi-hyung has a boyfriend?" Taehyung asked from his spot by the first drive-thru window."About time. I was afraid he would be alone forever."

Yoongi groaned."There's nothing wrong with being alone."

"Yes, there is." Jungkook could be heard from his spot at the front register."I hate being single."

Jimin rolled his eyes."I know some people who would gladly help you with that, Kookie."

"No, Jimin-hyung. I'll find a date on my own." Jungkook always turned down help. He wanted to find the perfect person on his own."Oh wow."

"What?" Jimin made his way over to Jungkook, despite the dirty look Yoongi gave him for leaving his spot.

Jungkook discreetly pointed toward a woman who entered the building."She's beautiful." He sounded like he was ready to melt at the sight of her ivory skin, dark eyes, and long black hair.

"Uh, yeah. She's pretty." Jimin groaned quietly and decided to ignore Jungkook now. He went back to his spot on the line, beginning to prepare the food for the next drive-thru order.

Yoongi rolled his eyes. He knew about Jimin's little crush on Jungkook. He wished Jimin would either give up or go for it. It seemed hopeless though. Jimin liked Jungkook too much to give up, but he was too afraid to confess because Jungkook kept showing interest in pretty girls. To make things worse, the pretty girls often showed interest in return. And judging by what Yoongi could hear from the front register, this woman was showing interest in Jungkook.

\---

Hoseok hummed cheerfully as he lightly drummed his fingers against the dashboard of Namjoon's car. He was in such a good mood. It had been a few days since his last date with Yoongi, and the happiness hadn't faded yet. He could hardly believe that he had a boyfriend. He had thought that being blind would make it much harder to date someone. However, he felt super lucky now.

"It's awesome to see you in such a good mood, Hoseok." Namjoon commented as he paid attention to the road and the cars around him."I assume you're thinking about Yoongi-hyung?"

"Yeah." Hoseok's tone was so gleeful. He thought about Yoongi so much lately. What did Yoongi look like? Where did he live? Could he meet Yoongi's friends? Hoseok wanted to be more involved in Yoongi's life."He's so nice. I mean, I can tell why people tend to misunderstand him, but it's also easy to notice that he's just a sweetheart."

Namjoon chuckled at Hoseok's words."Yeah, that's true. Jimin often tells me that Yoongi-hyung snaps at people whenever he gets embarrassed. That's funny."

"I think it's cute." Hoseok loved almost everything about Yoongi, except one thing."I just wish he could have a little more confidence in himself. During our date a few nights ago, he was so sad. He thought he wasn't capable of taking care of me. He's wrong. I think he's perfect."

"Aw, how cute." Namjoon teased."Maybe you should move in with him, instead of living with me."

Hoseok huffed."Trying to get rid of me, huh? I'm just a burden to you, aren't I?"

Namjoon sighed."You know that's not what I meant." He made a small hum before continuing."I just meant that it would be nice for you to get into a more serious relationship and possibly get laid."

"Namjoon!" Hoseok tried to smack Namjoon's arm and missed, hitting the seat.

Namjoon laughed at the failed smack."Just think about it, Hoseok. If you move in with Yoongi-hyung, you could get laid nightly."

"Shut up!" Hoseok could feel his cheeks heating up."We've only been on two dates!"

"I know. Are you two taking long enough?" Namjoon just loved to tease Hoseok and rile him up.

"Just because you fuck on the first date doesn't mean I have to!" Hoseok crossed his arms over his chest and let out a loud huff.

Namjoon laughed again."I'll make you a deal then." He decided to try compromising."You try to move things along with Yoongi-hyung, and I'll try to have a more serious relationship."

"No." Hoseok said flatly."I'm not going to try to get into Yoongi-hyung's pants like a thirsty hoe. I'm going to keep things moving at a nice pace."

"Fine. But at least tell me when you make progress." Namjoon just really wanted Hoseok's love life to get spiced up. He wanted his friend to get some action."Deal?"

With a small groan, Hoseok gave in."Fine. Deal."

"Great!" Namjoon pulled into a parking spot near the mall."Anyway, we should ask Jimin and Yoongi-hyung if they have any cute friends I can bang--I mean date."

"Namjoon! Behave!" Hoseok couldn't even feel surprised nor disappointed. He knew Namjoon was a bit of a player. He wished Namjoon would finally settle down and stop sleeping around. It would be nice to know that his best friend was happy and in a stable relationship.

Namjoon got out of the car and stepped around to open the passenger door for Hoseok."Let's shop. I'll pick out some cute clothes for you. You're going to look so fuckable for your next date."

Hoseok rolled his eyes and sighed as he got out of the car."You're never going to stop, are you?"

"Nope." Namjoon no intention of stopping until Hoseok got laid.

"Fine. Just don't overdo it." Hoseok didn't really care too much, as long as Namjoon didn't dress him in something ridiculous or too sexy.

"I make no promises." Namjoon linked his arm with Hoseok's and headed into the mall with him."Whatever I pick, you have to wear. Just follow my advice, and you'll get some dick."

Hoseok really hoped Namjoon would chill during their shopping trip. It was very embarrassing whenever Namjoon talked in public about getting laid. With a sense of defeat, Hoseok allowed Namjoon to pick out clothes for him, anything he thought would work.


	8. Chapter 8

"So what are your chances of getting laid on your next date?" That question earned a groan from Yoongi."What? I'm just wondering."

Yoongi eyed Jin with a perked eyebrow then lowered his gaze with a sigh."No chance." He didn't think it was possible for Hoseok to actually like him enough to get intimate. Besides, they had both agreed that it was too early for them to even think about doing anything intimate together.

"Why not?" Jin, like Jimin, had grown concerned with Yoongi's tendency to stay alone much of the time."Don't you like him enough?"

"Well, yeah, of course I do." Yoongi placed an elbow on the table and propped his chin on his palm."I just don't want to rush anything."

Jin sighed softly."You're lucky to have someone so cute to date. I'm having no luck."

Yoongi perked an eyebrow at Jin again."How are you having no luck? I thought guys and girls asked you out all the time."

"They do, but I turn them all down." Jin fidgeted with his fingers just a little."Yoongi, there's someone I really like, but he doesn't like me. He likes someone else."

"Who do you like?" Yoongi could see that Jin didn't know if he should admit it or not."I won't tell anyone, Jin-hyung. You can trust me."

Jin shook his head a little. He didn't want to say it out loud. He didn't want to be heard by the other people in Burger Palace."I can't say it..." Looking at Yoongi to catch his gaze, Jin glanced over toward the counter.

Yoongi knew that gaze. That was the gaze Jin used whenever he wanted to give a silent answer to something. Looking where Jin glanced, Yoongi spotted Jimin at the register. He was taking a customer's order."Oh."

Jin really liked Jimin, but he knew about Jimin's big crush on Jungkook."I can't say anything to him. I know he doesn't have any interest in me. Maybe I should move on and try to like someone else."

"Maybe." Yoongi felt really bad for Jin now. It must suck to like someone who was crushing on someone else. He glanced at his watch."Anyway, I have to go now. Hoseok and I are going out."

"Oh, having another cute date?" Jin perked up just a little.

Yoongi shook his head a little as he stood."No, not exactly. Hoseok wants to go for a walk. He said it will help me get used to guiding him around. I mean, I still tend to make him crash into things and trip. So I really need to start doing better."

"Yoongi." Jin chuckled lightly."You're smiling. That doesn't happen much. I guess you really do like him a lot."

Yoongi hadn't even realized that he had begun to smile while talking about Hoseok. He slumped his shoulders just a bit."He's a real sweetie, Jin-hyung. I don't deserve him. I don't even know why he likes me."

"Maybe you can ask him." Jin suggested. He didn't think it would be a big deal for Yoongi to ask Hoseok why he liked him.

"Fuck that, Hyung. I can't just ask him that." Yoongi's smile faded and was replaced with a lazy frown.

Jin rolled his eyes."Whatever. Just go. Don't keep your boyfriend waiting."

"I'm going." Quickly, Yoongi stuck his tongue out at Jin before leaving, having a slight moment of childishness.

\---

"No. Just no." Yoongi had both hands covering his face, preventing himself from looking at Hoseok."Why are you dressed like that? Change."

Hoseok pouted rather adorably."Does it look really bad?" He was worried that Yoongi thought he didn't look nice.

"No." Yoongi peeked between his fingers at Hoseok's attire. How had Namjoon gotten Hoseok to wear something like this?

"So it looks good?" Hoseok's tone became slightly hopeful.

With hot cheeks, Yoongi gulped."Yeah, but that's the problem." He didn't like this one bit."If you go out like that, people are going to stare at you."

"So?" Hoseok didn't really understand. He wouldn't be bothered by people staring at him because he couldn't see them anyway."Why is that a problem?"

Yoongi groaned at how clueless Hoseok was about this."I don't want other people to fucking stare at you." he snapped."You're my boyfriend. Mine. Other people need to keep their fucking eyes off of you."

Now Hoseok understood. This made him smile and chuckle."Oh, okay." He thought this was so cute."I didn't know you would be so possessive of me, Yoongi-hyung."

Lowering his hands, Yoongi felt so weak for Hoseok right now. Those low jeans hugged his legs perfectly. Not to mention the wonders it did for his butt. The loose shirt drove Yoongi crazy as the low-cut v-neck showed off his collarbone and a little of his chest. Yoongi was having thoughts he knew he shouldn't have. He wanted to do things he knew he shouldn't do. Self-control was really important right now."Just please change into something else."

"Nope." Hoseok couldn't help but grin."I'm going to go out in this."

"I'm not taking you out like that." Yoongi could feel his heart practically pounding against his ribcage.

"You are, actually." Placing his hands on his hips, Hoseok kept grinning."I can tell that you like it. If you think I look good, I will keep this on. I want to look good for you."

That made Yoongi feel even weaker."You really want to look good for me?"

"Yeah, of course." Hoseok was okay with stating this."I want you to think I'm attractive."

Yoongi felt a strong tug on his heartstrings."Hoseok..." A smile came over his lips."I will always think you're attractive, no matter what you wear."

"Really?" Hoseok beamed happily."Yay!"

Giving in, Yoongi grabbed Hoseok's hand."Fine, you can keep wearing that. But I'll kick the ass of anyone who stares at you."

Hoseok chuckled, loving Yoongi's behavior right now."I don't think that'll be neces--" He stopped abruptly, completely surprised when something touched his cheek so softly. A pair of lips."Did you just..."

Yoongi blushed and intertwined his fingers with Hoseok's."I told you I would do it next time." he mumbled shyly.

"You're so cute, Hyung." Hoseok knew that he must be blushing, judging by how hot his cheeks felt after that little kiss.

"I'm not cute!" Feeling flustered and shy now, Yoongi grumbled to himself as he started pulling Hoseok along.

"Hyung." Hoseok said as he chuckled, managing to walk along with Yoongi.

"What?!" Yoongi didn't mean to raise his voice. He was just too flustered at the moment. He looked at Hoseok and saw that he was grinning so widely.

"I'm happy." Hoseok felt the need to tell Yoongi that. He wanted his boyfriend to know that he was happy with him.

Yoongi turned his gaze away and gave Hoseok's hand a small squeeze."Me too."


	9. Chapter 9

Yoongi was so relieved and calm as he walked around with Hoseok. He felt like he was doing a good enough job of leading him around so far. He hadn't caused Hoseok to crash into anything or trip yet. This was actually quite relaxing, just walking around with his cute boyfriend. Though, there was one thing that bothered him. Quite a few girls and even some other guys kept looking at Hoseok. Yoongi knew that outfit was a bad idea. He should have been more persistent about making Hoseok change into something else. This caused him to let out a sigh.

"Is something wrong, Yoongi-hyung?" Hoseok asked, utterly clueless."I've noticed that you only sigh like that when something is bothering you."

"I knew this was a bad idea, Hoseok." Yoongi slightly tightened his grip on his boyfriend's hand."People are checking you out, and I don't like it."

Hoseok chuckled as he understood now."Well, just don't let go of my hand. Even if people check me out, they can also see that I am with you. Besides, I wouldn't be surprised if people were checking you out too."

Yoongi stopped walking abruptly."Why would people check me out? I'm not nearly as cute as you." Those words were enough to make both of them blush a light shade of pink. Yoongi was embarrassed about saying it, while Hoseok was flattered.

"I bet you're really cute, Hyung. In fact, I'm sure of it." When he didn't get a response, Hoseok just imagined that Yoongi was shy about being called cute. Maybe he didn't know how to respond. A happy laugh slipped out when he felt a tug on his hand, letting Yoongi pull him along again.

In truth, Yoongi had no idea how to correctly respond to being called cute, especially by Hoseok. Even though he didn't think of himself as cute or even very good-looking, it gave him the feeling of butterflies in his stomach whenever Hoseok said it. So Yoongi just pulled Hoseok along again, not really having anything else to say.

At this point, Hoseok couldn't stop smiling. He was so happy."It's so bright out here today." he commented with a pleased tone.

"How can you tell?" Yoongi was very curious about how Hoseok could tell certain things without being able to see. It was something he didn't understand because he, obviously, never had to go without his sight.

"I can feel the warmth of the sun." Hoseok began to swing their connected hands a bit childishly."It feels really warm and strong, so I know it's bright."

That made sense to Yoongi. He didn't know how he didn't think of that. Maybe he was just so used to feeling the warmth of the sun while also being able to see the brightness that he just didn't give it any thought."The forecast said it's supposed to rain later though. It's hard to believe rain is coming when it's so bright and warm right now."

"Well, we'll just enjoy the sunshine while it lasts." Hoseok loved being out in the sunshine. But he loved being out with Yoongi more. So he didn't care too much about what type of weather there was.

\---

"So what do you think, Jimin? Set up a blind date for me?" Namjoon asked with a dimply smile.

Jimin crossed his arms over his chest."I don't know, Hyung. I know what kind of person you are."

"Please, Jimin?" Namjoon pleaded, trying his best to be cute enough to convince his friend to help him."I promise to give my blind date the best night of his life."

"Not all of my friends think that having sex on the first date qualifies as the best night of their life." Jimin sighed as he tried to think of a friend who needed or wanted a date."I don't want to just hand over one of my friends, but I know Yoongi-hyung has a friend who hasn't dated anyone in a long time. Maybe he'll agree to meet with you for a little date."

Namjoon's face brightened up."Awesome. Thanks."

"I'm not making any promises though. Just remember that he might reject the idea of a blind date." Jimin hoped it would go well. He really wished Namjoon would just start dating someone seriously, instead of just seeking sex all the time.

"So what's Yoongi-hyung's friend's name?" Namjoon asked curiously."Is he older or younger than me? What should I do to appeal to him?"

Jimin rolled his eyes at the questions."First of all, his name is Jin. He's older than you, so be respectful. Yoongi-hyung will be really mad if you upset Jin-hyung. They're really close." Giving this just a little thought, Jimin shrugged his shoulders."Just be yourself. If it doesn't work out, it'll be okay. Just don't pretend to be someone you're not."

Namjoon really hoped he could hook up with Jin successfully."I can hardly wait to meet him. I'm sure things will work out fine."

Jimin was already starting to regret this. Maybe Namjoon was too confident. Well, he would just have to wait and see how things might go if Jin agreed to the blind date."Just try not to come on too strong. Jin-hyung hasn't been on a date in a long time. He gets asked out a lot, but he always turns everyone down. I don't know why. Still, I'll ask him to go on this blind date."

"Thanks, Jimin." Namjoon was quite pleased already. He didn't really care too much about how the date itself would go. He just wanted to get laid. He wanted to hook up for some amazing sex with no strings attached. He didn't think that was too much to ask. After all, he thought sex was fun. It was like a hobby for him to meet a cute guy and mess around before moving on to the next one.


	10. Chapter 10

Yoongi held onto Hoseok's hand tightly as they hurried along the sidewalk. He had to be very careful while guiding Hoseok now because they were moving faster than usual. Maybe running with a blind person was a bad idea, but they both really needed to get inside. It was getting dark out, and the rain had come. It had started as a light drizzle, so they hadn't been worried, but that drizzle had quickly turned into a heavy downpour. As they ran along, Yoongi told Hoseok a few times to be careful, though he knew there wasn't much Hoseok could do.

Since it was closer to where they had been, Yoongi led Hoseok to his house. Unlocking the front door, he brought his boyfriend inside."S-sorry..." he stammered from loss of breath.

"Is this...your house..?" Hoseok panted to catch his breath. He heard Yoongi close the front door then felt his boyfriend release his hand.

"Yeah." Yoongi pushed some hair away from his face then turned to look at Hoseok. Oh god, this sight made his breath get caught in his throat. He stared. How could he not stare when his cute and handsome boyfriend was dripping wet? Those tight pants clung even tighter to him. That shirt became see-through and stuck to his body. Snapping back to reality, Yoongi cleared his throat."Wait here." He kicked off his shoes then quickly scurried away.

"Uh, okay." Hoseok wrapped his arms around himself, shivering from being wet and cold. He felt like a soaked kitten. He wondered what Yoongi was doing and how long he would have to wait here.

"Go ahead and take off your shoes!" Yoongi called from where he had gone.

Hoseok made a small hum and removed his shoes. He did his best to place them neatly beside the door. Soon, he heard Yoongi return."I'm cold~" he whined.

Yoongi smiled softly."I know." Holding out a towel he had retrieved, he reached up and gently moved it over Hoseok's head."Let's dry you off a little. Then, I'll get you something dry to wear."

As Yoongi began to dry his hair, Hoseok couldn't help but laugh a little. It felt nice to have his boyfriend taking care of him like this."Aren't you going to dry yourself off too?"

"After I'm done taking care of you." Hoseok was Yoongi's first priority right now. As he focused on drying his hair, he tried so hard to keep his gaze above the other guy's shoulders. The sight of wet perfection below those shoulders had actually turned him on a little. He really didn't want to get turned on while taking care of Hoseok. Still, keeping his gaze up wasn't really helping much.

Hoseok enjoyed the feel of his hair being dried like this. He smiled as the fluffy towel was soon rubbed against his cheeks then slipped down to his neck. He could also feel Yoongi's hands beginning to shake."You seem cold. You should dry yourself a bit."

"I'm fine." Yoongi found himself peering at Hoseok's lips. Should he kiss him? Would Hoseok like that? Yoongi bit his bottom lip and tried to push away that thought. He didn't have Hoseok's permission to kiss him. Should he ask? That would be too embarrassing. Ah, fuck it."Hoseok, can I kiss you?"

Hoseok was really surprised by that question. He had not expected it at all."Um..."

Not receiving an answer right away, Yoongi's mind filled with regret for asking."I-I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked. It's probably too soon."

"No, no, it's okay. Don't be sorry." Hoseok couldn't stop smiling. He didn't think words could explain how happy he was to know that Yoongi wanted to kiss him."Yoongi-hyung, I would love a kiss."

Clutching the towel in one hand, Yoongi lifted his other hand to ever-so-softly caress Hoseok's cheek before cupping his jaw."Uh, Hoseok..." Well, this was embarrassing."Lean down a little."

Hoseok stifled a small chuckle."So cute~" he cooed as he leaned down.

Yoongi retracted his hand."Well, now I don't want to kiss you. Brat."

"Aw, I'm sorry, Hyung." Hoseok pouted so adorably."Please kiss me. Please~"

"Fine. Just be quiet." Yoongi leaned in slowly, hesitating when their lips were mere centimeters apart. His heart was pounding, and he hoped he would do this right. Not that he had never kissed anyone before. He had. He just wanted it to be meaningful with Hoseok. He wanted it to be special and sweet. And quite honestly, he was scared. He was committing to a relationship that was so tender, something he wasn't used to. Mustering up his courage and confidence, Yoongi connected their lips, finally.

Hoseok felt a surge of powerful tingles rush through his body, born from the feeling of Yoongi's lips against his own. This wasn't his first kiss, but it felt like it was. As quickly as it had begun, the kiss ended. Hoseok resisted a whimper when Yoongi pulled away."That's it?"

Yoongi perked an eyebrow as he nervously fidgeted with the towel."Yeah. Were you expecting more?"

"Well, no, but it was nice." Hoseok straightened himself up and grinned happily."I love the fact that we're taking this slow. It really means a lot to me. And you're such a gentleman."

Blushing, Yoongi threw the towel over Hoseok's face."Shut up." He didn't know how his boyfriend could say such words so easily.

Hoseok laughed and pulled the towel off of his face."So you mentioned dry clothes." he said to change the topic."I'm still cold."

"Uh, yeah." Shyly, Yoongi grabbed Hoseok's hand to lead him along."I'll get you some of my clothes. You can change in my room."

"Ooh, you're taking me to your bedroom~" Hoseok teased.

"Hush." Once he got Hoseok into his bedroom, Yoongi grabbed some clothes from his closet and gave them to his boyfriend."While you change, I'll change in the bathroom."

Hoseok felt lost when Yoongi walked away from him. He wanted his boyfriend to stay by his side, but he knew they both needed to get changed into dry clothes."Yoongi-hyung."

"Yeah?" Yoongi stopped in the doorway on his way out of the room.

Hoseok lightly bit his lower lip, a blush on his cheeks."Can I have another kiss?"

"No!" Yoongi rushed out of the bedroom, able to hear Hoseok laughing at his little outburst. His heart felt like it grew wings and flew straight to Heaven.


	11. Chapter 11

Jin blinked in confusion when he entered Burger Palace and didn't see Yoongi at the front counter. It was nearing lunchtime. Yoongi was normally the one at the counter at this time of day. Instead, Jungkook was standing there, waiting for the lunch rush. Jin approached the counter and peered past Jungkook. He didn't see Yoongi on the line or by the drive-thru window."Where's Yoongi?" he asked Jungkook curiously.

"Oh, he didn't come to work today." Jungkook answered rather simply."He said he's a little sick."

"Yoongi's sick?" Jin really didn't like to hear that."Oh boy. I should take him some soup."

Jungkook gave a simple nod."Take him some medicine too. He sounded stuffed up when he called."

"Good idea." Stepping aside, Jin pulled out his phone to call Yoongi. He needed to let his friend know that he was going to visit him. However, when the call was answered, he heard a voice that wasn't Yoongi's."Um, hello. Who is this?" He cocked his head just slightly to the side."Hoseok?" It took a moment for him to recognize the name."Oh, Yoongi's boyfriend. Hi. Where's Yoongi?" He was quiet for a minute as he listened to Hoseok."Oh, okay. I'm coming to his house soon to bring some soup and medicine for him. If he wakes up, let him know. Bye." Jin ended the call and made a small hum.

"Jin-hyung? What are you doing here?" Jimin had approached the front counter and stood next to Jungkook.

Jin's heart pounded as he looked at Jimin. He didn't think anyone could be more perfect than the shorter male."Oh, uh, I was just looking for Yoongi, but Jungkook said he's sick."

Jimin nodded in affirmation."Yup. Hyung has a little cold." Now that he was seeing Jin, this seemed like the perfect time to discuss a certain something with him."Can I talk to you in private for a moment?"

"In private?" Jin didn't know what to expect. He and Jimin had never really spoken extensively before. Now Jimin wanted to speak to him in private?"Okay."

Jimin made his way around the counter and grabbed Jin's hand, not thinking anything of it."Come this way."

Jin allowed himself to be pulled along. He followed Jimin outside and around the side of the building."Um..." He was so nervous. His crush was holding his hand.

"I only have a couple minutes to talk about this because the lunch rush will start soon." Jimin released Jin's hand."Jin-hyung, I know you're not currently seeing anyone. I have a friend who needs a date. I promised to set him up on a blind date." He really hoped Jin would agree to this."Will you be his blind date?"

Jin felt so stupid for getting nervous and excited. Jimin just wanted to ask him to be someone else's blind date? His crush was trying to set him up with someone else? It really was hopeless, wasn't it? Maybe Jin should stop nurturing his feelings for Jimin."Yeah." he softly agreed."I'll be his date." He couldn't even force himself to smile. He felt like Jimin just stomped his heart into the ground without even realizing it.

"Really?" Jimin grinned widely."That's great. I'll tell him during my next break. I'll let you know later when and where to meet him."

The front door of the building was opened, and Taehyung poked his head out."Jimin!" he called."We need you to come back inside and help!"

"Oh, I have to go. Thanks, Jin-hyung." Jimin gave a quick wave then hurried back inside to help with the lunch rush.

\---

Hoseok walked around cautiously, making a mental map of Yoongi's house. He wanted to learn where each room was. After all, this wasn't going to be the only time he'd be here, right? It was so weird to be walking around while Yoongi was asleep, but he didn't want to just sit and wait. And he wasn't tired, so he didn't want to take a nap. What else could he do? Hoseok was getting hungry, but he didn't know where anything was. He couldn't possibly cook. And he couldn't order anything because he didn't know Yoongi's address. What should he do for food? He felt so helpless. With a heavy sigh, he wondered if there was anything he could do to help Yoongi feel better.

Carefully, Hoseok made his way to the living room, hearing the quiet snoring of his sleeping boyfriend who was curled up on the couch. Yoongi hadn't moved from the couch once yet today. He had slept there last night while Hoseok had slept in his bed. Hoseok had woken up this morning to the sounds of Yoongi coughing and sneezing. Perhaps it was a cold from getting soaked in the rain last night. Hoseok quietly approached the couch and felt around until he found Yoongi's face. Feeling his forehead, Hoseok was relieved that Yoongi didn't seem to have a fever. He just probably felt miserable from being stuffy. Shrieking, Hoseok was startled when his wrist was grabbed loosely. He quickly calmed down though when he heard a small chuckle."I didn't know you were awake."

"I wasn't." Yoongi shifted to lay on his back, gently pulling Hoseok's hand down a few inches."I woke up when you started touching my face, you weirdo."

"I just wanted to check your temperature." Hoseok smiled as he felt Yoongi begin to play with his fingers."I hope you don't mind, but I answered your phone earlier. I didn't want to wake you up. A friend of yours called and said that he's going to come by to bring you some soup and medicine."

"Ah. Jin-hyung." Yoongi knew Jin was the only one who would worry enough to bring him medicine and soup. He felt like an idiot when he heard a loud sound."Was that your stomach?"

Heat rose in Hoseok's cheeks, embarrassed by the loud grumble his stomach had made."Uh, yeah. I'm hungry."

"Shit. And you can't make anything." Yoongi sighed."Give me my phone. I'll order some pizza."

"Are you sure you should talk on the phone while you're so stuffed up?" Hoseok didn't want Yoongi to possibly make himself feel worse.

Yoongi sniffled and felt gross by doing so."It'll be fine. I've got the app for a nearby pizza place. No talking necessary."

"Well then, great. I love pizza." Hoseok would just be happy to get something to eat.


	12. Chapter 12

Hoseok sat in silence, eating a slice of pepperoni pizza while listening to the conversation happening between Yoongi and Jin. He knew it wasn't right to listen in on other people's conversations. He had offered to eat in another room, but they had said that it was okay for him to remain with them. Hoseok was starting to feel really awkward though. This certainly was a conversation that should be private, especially since Jin sounded very upset, like he might actually be crying.

"You really like Jimin enough to get this upset over it?" Yoongi asked as he watched a couple tears trickle down Jin's cheeks.

Jin nodded and felt pathetic."I really like him, Yoongi." He sighed heavily."But I've agreed to go on a blind date just because he asked me to."

"Is he setting you up with a guy or a girl?" Yoongi ate a spoonful of the soup Jin had made for him. He actually wanted to eat some of the pizza, but he knew soup was better for him right now.

"A guy." Jin rubbed his eyes a little.

Setting his bowl of soup down onto the coffee table, Yoongi sighed."Maybe it'll be okay, Jin-hyung. This blind date might be what you need. You can try dating someone and forget about Jimin. You can move on and actually be happy."

"But I don't want to move on, Yoongi." Jin's voice was getting unsteady. His lips quivered as he was trying to resist the powerful urge to start crying. He hiccuped as a small sob slipped out.

Yoongi felt weak right now for his best friend. He wished there was something he could do to cheer him up."Do you want some comfort, Hyung?"

"Yeah." Jin whined as he leaned closer to Yoongi, wrapping his arms around the shorter guy.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. I never said you could hug me." Yoongi gave Jin a small push.

"Sorry." Jin sniffled as he pulled back.

Groaning, Yoongi gave in so easily."Fine. Hug me." He really didn't mind being hugged by Jin. He just didn't know how to react to it.

Jin put his arms around Yoongi again and rested his forehead against his friend's shoulder."Thanks, Yoongi." This was something Jin really needed right now.

Hoseok couldn't help but laugh lightly."You two are so cute. Such good friends."

Feeling embarrassed about his soft side showing again, Yoongi looked at Hoseok with a narrowed gaze."Just so you know, I'm glaring at you so hard right now." he told his boyfriend.

"That's okay. I bet your glare is adorable." Hoseok bit into his slice of pizza, pleased to find a piece of pepperoni."Mm~"

\---

This seemed like a very bad idea to Jin. He didn't think he should be doing this. He wanted to stick with his feelings for Jimin. He didn't want to forget about his crush and possibly like someone else. But how could he possibly just cancel this blind date when his crush was the one who asked him to do it? Still, after crying at Yoongi's house and being told to give this a chance, Jin was trying to force himself to be okay with this.

Jimin had texted Jin to let him know when and where to meet his date. That simple text had caused the crushing feeling to return. Jin wanted to cry again. However, he just swallowed the lump in his throat. Not really having much of a choice, Jin started getting ready for the date. It was getting close to the time for him to meet his blind date at a small restaurant. He didn't know why that restaurant had been chosen for their meeting place, but he wouldn't argue. He actually liked the food that was served there.

Trying not to think too much about the possibility of maybe liking his date, Jin decided to take a quick shower. He wanted to smell good. He didn't want to show up and not smell nice. After all, Jin was a firm believer in maintaining great personal hygiene. After his shower, he combed his hair and brushed his teeth. He got dressed then peered at himself in the full length mirror in his bedroom."Okay." he spoke to himself, being nervous."I look okay." He hadn't been on a date in a few years. His last relationship had a messy ending, so he hadn't been in a rush to start dating again. So this was scary for him.

"I just have to meet him." Jin reminded himself."A blind date is like a test. It's not a commitment." Taking a deep breath, he exhaled slowly to try to calm himself."Well, here goes nothing." Jin left his house and made his way to the restaurant. When he got there, he bit his bottom lip, inwardly hoping this would not be a disaster. Entering the restaurant, he glanced around. Where had Jimin told him his date would be sitting? The last table on the left? Looking in that direction, Jin made his way toward the last table. Sure enough, a man was sitting there alone.

Being approached, Namjoon looked at the man who had stepped over to his table. Damn, this guy was handsome."Hi. You're Jin?"

Jin was slightly relieved. He would have been embarrassed if he had approached a wrong person."Yes. What's your name?"

Namjoon felt lucky. Jin seemed to fit his tastes so far. Of course, Namjoon didn't have much of a preference. He just loved guys who were either really cute or really handsome. Besides, they were all the same once he got them in his bed."I'm Namjoon." He made a small motion to the seat across from him."Have a seat. Let's get this started."

"Yeah, okay." Jin really hoped he wouldn't end up regretting this. But maybe this would turn out alright. Maybe it was good for him to attempt to date someone after being single for a few years. He just really didn't want to be hurt or disappointed.


	13. Chapter 13

Things were awkward for Jin at the beginning of the date. He didn't know what to do. Sure, Namjoon was attractive, but he didn't seem like Jin's type. Was he Namjoon's type? Should he ask? No. That would probably be weird. He let out a heavy sigh as he tried to calm his nerves while looking at the beverage section of the menu.

"Hey, just try to relax." Namjoon spoke soothingly."You don't need to be nervous."

Jin peered across the table at Namjoon and pouted just slightly."This is just new for me." he admitted."I've never been on a blind date before. I haven't been on a date at all for a few years now. I guess I'm out of practice."

Namjoon smiled at that."Maybe I can help you get back into the swing of things."

"Maybe." When a waitress came by to take their orders, Jin simply asked for sweet tea.

Namjoon ordered iced coffee."Are you not a fan of coffee?" he asked curiously.

Jin shook his head."I don't like the taste."

"The caffeine can give you a good buzz." Namjoon loved caffeinated drinks.

"I don't need it." Jin shifted his gaze around a little. He didn't know if he was supposed to show more interest in Namjoon or not. Should he? But he wasn't interested. Namjoon was handsome, sure. But it took more than just good looks to grab Jin's interest.

Namjoon perked an eyebrow at Jin."You don't need caffeine to keep you going? You sound like my type of man."

That made Jin curious."What do you mean?"

"Well, I like a man who can keep going in the bedroom." Namjoon stated honestly. He wasn't planning on being subtle. He saw no point in beating around the bush.

"Excuse me?" Jin was appalled. Did Namjoon think it was okay to talk about this during their first date?

The waitress returned and set down their drinks."Do you two need a few more minutes to decide on your orders?" she asked.

Namjoon smiled at the waitress and closed his menu."No, I think we're--"

"A few more minutes please." Jin interrupted. When the waitress walked away, he closed his own menu as well."You need to explain yourself before this date can continue."

A light chuckle came out from Namjoon."Explain myself? Listen, if you want to get to know me, I know a much faster way." He peered across at Jin, giving his most seductive expression. This always worked on cute guys.

However, it didn't work on Jin. He could tell what Namjoon meant."If you think I'm just going to bend over and let you fuck me on our first date, you're wrong."

"Oh, don't worry about that. I'll bend over if you don't want to." Namjoon said with a wink."Either way is fine with me. As long as one of us gets fucked by the other, I'll be satisfied."

"You're such a pig." Jin mentally scolded himself for coming here. He should have known a blind date was a bad idea. He had hoped it would turn out well, like Yoongi's blind date with Hoseok. But that didn't seem to be the case here."I'm leaving."

"Wait, what?" Namjoon was confused. A man was actually turning him down? This never happened."If you want this date to be more exciting, we can go into the bathroom real quick." he suggested.

Giving an appalled gasp, Jin grabbed his glass of tea."You disgust me." He splashed the tea all over Namjoon then stood, walking away."Fucking prick." he cursed under his breath.

\---

Namjoon grumbled to himself as he entered the front door of his and Hoseok's house. Kicking the door shut, he groaned."Guess it's just me and my hand tonight."

Hearing that Namjoon was home, Hoseok called out to him from another room."How did the date go?!"

"Fan-fucking-tastic!" Namjoon called back."The guy was hot but super uptight!"

"So no luck?!" Hoseok was actually surprised. It wasn't normal for Namjoon to go out and not bring a guy home.

"None! Zilch!" Namjoon made his way into the living room and saw Hoseok sitting on the couch. The TV was on, and Hoseok seemed to just be listening to a documentary that was playing."If I don't get a good fuck soon, I might have to ask you to share you cute little boyfriend." he joked.

Hoseok chuckled."That'll never happen. Yoongi-hyung is only mine."

"You haven't had sex with him yet. So that means he might be willing to sleep with someone else." Namjoon didn't think it was possible for someone to be faithful in a relationship without sex. Hell, he was never faithful in a relationship with sex."I mean, I've seen a bit of his short temper. That little guy really needs to enjoy a good fuck."

"Yoongi-hyung would never cheat on me, Namjoon." Hoseok was sure."I trust him."

\---

"What's your problem, Jimin?" Yoongi asked as he used a napkin to wipe off the counter while there were no customers. He was back at work after staying home for a couple days."You've been frowning all day."

Jimin just shrugged his shoulders."I don't want to talk about it."

Yoongi perked an eyebrow. Usually, Jimin would talk about his problems. He and Yoongi were pretty close, so there was no reason for them to keep secrets from each other."Are you sure? You know I'll listen." Yoongi knew he could be quite rude to Jimin sometimes, but he knew when to be nice.

"I'm sure, Hyung. Thanks though." Jimin sulked away from the counter and grabbed a cup. He made his way to the soda dispenser and filled up the cup. He knew Yoongi didn't care.

Being concerned about Jimin's unhappy behavior, Yoongi went to Taehyung. He wouldn't normally do this because Taehyung annoyed the fuck out of him, but he figured Taehyung would know what was upsetting Jimin."Hey, Tae." Yoongi said as he leaned his side against the wall near the drive-thru window."What's up with Jimin?"

Taehyung glanced past Yoongi, making sure Jimin wasn't close enough to hear them. He had four simple words that would make it clear why Jimin was unhappy."Jungkook got a date."

"Oh." Yeah, that definitely explained why Jimin was so unhappy."I feel bad for Jimin." Yoongi said softly."But I also feel like he deserves it."

"What?" Taehyung wasn't sure if he heard that correctly."How does Jimin deserve it?"

"Just forget it." Yoongi turned and walked away from Taehyung. As much as he knew Jimin was saddened by the fact that Jungkook was no longer single, Yoongi also thought Jimin deserved a bit of the way he was feeling after making Jin cry by asking him to go on a blind date.


	14. Chapter 14

Entering the cafe where Jin worked, Yoongi hoped to find his friend in a good mood. He really hoped the blind date had gone well. Maybe Jin had been able to bond with the mystery guy and forget about his feelings for Jimin. What Yoongi saw and heard when he entered the cafe was enough to show him that nothing was okay. Looking ahead at the counter, Yoongi easily spotted Jin. It would be impossible to miss the tall man who was currently shouting at one of his coworkers.

"That is the second latte you've spilled today, Jackson! Get your shit together!" Jin scolded rather harshly. Thank god for few customers. Otherwise, this would be an even worse situation.

"It was an accident!" Jackson shouted back.

Jin slammed down an empty cup he had been holding."You need to stop having these accidents! My god! You keep dropping things as if your fingers are made of butter!"

Taking off his apron, Jackson shoved it against Jin's chest."I don't know what twisted your panties today, but I'm sick of it! I quit!" He stormed out from behind the counter, stomping past Yoongi on his way out of the cafe.

Yoongi approached the counter and sighed as he saw Jin using Jackson's apron to clean up a mess that was all over the floor, clearly the spilled latte."You okay, Jin-hyung? What's gotten into you?"

Jin groaned then let out a heavy sigh, tossing the messy apron aside."I don't know what to do, Yoongi." he admitted."Maybe I should just give up."

"Give up on what?" Yoongi could guess, but he wanted to let Jin say it.

"On dating." Jin didn't think dating was worth all the disappointment.

Yoongi rolled his eyes."Wow, you give up so easily."

"Excuse me?" Jin turned a glare up toward Yoongi from where he was sitting on his knees on the floor beside the remaining residue of the spilled latte.

"You had one bad date, Hyung. Just one." Yoongi was actually a bit annoyed by this."You always encouraged me to let Jimin set me up on blind dates, even though they kept going wrong. You know I got my hopes crushed several times. But you can't handle having your hopes crushed once?"

Jin's glare weakened."But it just seems so hopeless, Yoongi. Now I know why you always said that you wanted to quit."

"I almost did quit." Yoongi placed his hands atop the counter and made a small hum."I wanted to give up, but I was convinced to go on one more date. That date was my lucky chance. I now have Hoseok because of that." He smiled fondly as he thought about his cute, blind boyfriend."If you give up now, you'll never know if your next date is your lucky chance or not."

"But my date will never be Jimin." Jin was accepting the seemingly impossible chance of dating his crush.

Yoongi rolled his eyes."Good. No Jimin for you. Find someone better."

Jin shook his head as he lowered his gaze."No one is better than Jimin."

"You'll find someone, Hyung. I know you will." Yoongi smiled softly."Trust me. If I can get a sweet boyfriend, so can you." He was pleased when he saw Jin nod in agreement."Now, first of all, you need to call that Jackson guy and apologize. You were a bit of a dick."

\---

"So Jin-hyung is going to try to find a nice date?" Hoseok asked as he laid his head on Yoongi's shoulder.

"I don't know. I hope so." Yoongi stared ahead at the TV. He was watching some lame detective show while Hoseok was obviously just listening to it. Though, they both didn't seem to be paying much attention to it.

Both of Hoseok's hands were holding onto one of Yoongi's hands, gently playing with his fingers."I'm sorry his date didn't go well. I heard about it from Namjoon. He complained about it not going his way and told me all about how Jin-hyung reacted to his advances."

"You have no reason to be sorry, Hoseok. Namjoon was a dick. That had nothing to do with you." With a soft sigh, Yoongi leaned his head back against the couch and stared up at the ceiling, not really having any interest in watching the detective show.

It got quiet as they both stopped talking. Hoseok snuggled a little closer to Yoongi, pressing against his boyfriend's side. After a few minutes, he spoke up."Yoongi-hyung, can I have a kiss?" He felt Yoongi get tense."Do you not want to kiss me?"

"No, no, I do." Yoongi didn't want to admit that he wanted to kiss Hoseok more than anything in the world right now. That was just embarrassing.

"Well then, kiss me." Hoseok lifted his head from Yoongi's shoulder and shifted a little on the couch to fully face his boyfriend.

Yoongi looked at Hoseok and almost chuckled at how chipper Hoseok seemed to be just by knowing that he was going to get a kiss. Using his free hand, he gently brushed his fingers against Hoseok's cheek before cupping his jaw."Hoseok..."

"Oh, right." Hoseok leaned down just a little, remembering that Yoongi had needed him to lean down last time.

Leaning in close, Yoongi connected their lips in a simple, sweet kiss. It only lasted a couple seconds. When he pulled away, he cocked his head to the side when Hoseok giggled."Is something funny?"

Hoseok shook his head."No, not at all. I just think it's really cute how tender you are."

"Do you not like it?" Yoongi hoped he wasn't doing anything that displeased Hoseok. He really wanted to be a good boyfriend.

"I do like it, Hyung, but..." Hoseok slid his hand up Yoongi's arm, his fingers gently drumming over his slender shoulder. Feeling his way up the side of Yoongi's neck, he smiled as he mimicked the way Yoongi was cupping his jaw."I want more. Can I have more?"

Yoongi's lips formed a sort of smile that seemed to be mixed with a slight smirk."Of course you can have more." As much as he was shy and nervous about kissing Hoseok, it was something he really wanted to do. Connecting their lips again, he didn't pull away this time.

Hoseok felt like fireworks exploded within his chest as Yoongi's lips began to move sweetly against his own. He felt like melting. His hand that was still holding Yoongi's hand adjusted itself to lock their fingers together. His other hand slipped around to gently touch the back of his boyfriend's neck.

Slipping his hand down away from Hoseok's jaw, Yoongi moved it to the blind guy's hip. His eyelids fell closed as he was melting into this kiss. This was the most wonderful thing he had experienced in long time. However, this didn't last much longer.

Being startled by a loud sound, Hoseok quickly pulled back from Yoongi and let out a small shriek."Oh my god..!" Once his mind processed what the sound had been, he pouted, feeling dumb."Stupid show..." He had been startled by a gunshot that happened in the detective show.

"You're really cute when you get scared over little things." Yoongi said with a chuckle as he grabbed the remote, turning off the TV."So to be continued?"

"Yeah. Some other time." Hoseok needed to give his heart a chance to stop pounding.


	15. Chapter 15

"You told Jin-hyung to do what?" Jimin wasn't sure if he had heard Yoongi's words correctly. They were standing behind the counter at Burger Palace, just chatting during the slow time after the lunch rush.

"I told Jin-hyung to agree to date the next person who asks him out." Yoongi had spoken to Jin this morning about his lack of a nice date in so long. He really wanted to see his friend be happy."That blind date was awful for him. I hope you feel bad for setting it up."

Jimin frowned."Well, I do feel bad that it didn't go well, but I was really hoping to help Namjoon-hyung finally have a serious relationship."

"So you asked Jin-hyung to do it? Jimin, you know he hasn't dated anyone for a few years." Yoongi was highly disappointed in Jimin, and it was certainly showing."You could have asked someone else. You could have asked Taehyung."

With a shake of his head, Jimin rolled his eyes."Taehyung would never agree to a blind date."

Yoongi crossed his arms over his chest and huffed."Jin-hyung wouldn't normally agree either. He only did it because  _you_ asked." Immediately after saying that, Yoongi bit his lip. He shouldn't have said that."Fuck."

"What do you mean?" Jimin didn't understand."Was it special because I was the one who asked?"

"No, not at all." Yoongi turned away from Jimin, desperately wishing he could just take back his words. He wasn't supposed to let Jimin know that Jin liked him. He was fully aware that Jin didn't want to make his feelings known.

Jimin tapped Yoongi's shoulder."But, Hyung, you said--"

"Oh, hey, Jungkook!" Yoongi spotted Jungkook enter the building at just the right time."How are things going with your new  _girlfriend_." He put emphasis on the word girlfriend to make Jimin be quiet.

And it worked. Jimin hung his head low and walked away from the counter, heading to his spot on the food line.

Jungkook approached the counter and grinned widely."Hey, Yoongi-hyung. Things are great actually. We've only gone on a couple dates so far, but she's a really sweet girl. I like her a lot."

"So what's her name?" Yoongi faked curiosity, seeing that Jungkook was clearly very happy.

"Chaeyoung." Jungkook pulled his phone out of his pocket and turned on the screen before turning the phone toward Yoongi."Look. This is a picture we took together yesterday. Isn't she so pretty?"

Yoongi gave a small nod of approval."Yes, she is pretty. So you're straight, huh?" He knew it was mean of him to speak to Jungkook like this while Jimin was still able to hear them. Honestly, Yoongi couldn't care. He wanted to be mean to Jimin. He wanted to make Jimin pay in some way for causing Jin to be upset."We were all wondering if you were straight or maybe bisexual. I don't know why. Maybe you just gave off that sort of vibe."

Jungkook cocked his head a little to the side."I'm a hundred percent straight, Hyung." He peered past Yoongi when he heard the loud clank of a skillet falling on the floor."You okay, Jimin-hyung?"

Jimin quickly squatted down to pick up the skillet he had dropped."Yeah, I'm, uh, fine." In a rush, Jimin headed to the back to wash the skillet.

Putting his phone back into his pocket, Jungkook peeked up at the menu that was hanging above."I think I'll bring Chaeyoung here for dinner later. She might like to meet you guys. I just know you guys will like her."

Yoongi was pretty satisfied with himself now. He knew Jimin was upset. Though, a small part of him felt bad."That would be nice. Just make sure you warn her that I'm an ass and Taehyung's an idiot."

"I'm not an idiot!" Taehyung shouted from the drive-thru window.

"I know, Taehyung. I'm just teasing." Yoongi always thought it was funny to tease Taehyung.

"Don't worry. I'll make sure she's prepared." Jungkook lightly tapped his hands on the counter."Anyway, I am just here to get a few burgers. My brother is waiting for me to take food home."

Yoongi rolled his eyes."So you come here for food on your day off? I figured you would want food from somewhere else. Don't you get sick of eating these burgers?"

Jungkook shrugged his shoulders a little."Well, yeah, I do, but my brother loves these burgers. This is what he wants to eat."

"So how many burgers?" Yoongi pressed a few buttons on the register.

Jungkook thought for a short moment before answering."Hmm, ten. Ten cheeseburgers."

Yoongi perked an eyebrow."Ten cheeseburgers. Anything for your brother?" he joked.

"Hyung, you weirdo." Jungkook laughed."I'm not going to eat all of them. I mean, I probably could, but I'm not going to."

After ringing up the ten cheeseburgers, Yoongi told Jungkook the total. Once the amount was paid, Yoongi glanced toward the line and saw that Jimin wasn't back yet. With a sigh, he headed to the back to see what Jimin was doing."Jimin. I need you back on the line."

A gross sniff was heard."Okay, Hyung..." Jimin answered with a shaky voice."I'll be out there in a second." There was another sniff.

Rounding a corner in the back, Yoongi found Jimin sitting on the floor with his back against the wall."Hey, you okay?" This didn't look good at all.

Jimin shook his head and refused to look up at Yoongi."I never stood a chance with him, Yoongi-hyung." Using his apron, Jimin wiped his nose."He's straight. He never could have liked me back."

Now Yoongi felt even worse about talking to Jungkook like that when Jimin could hear them. He squatted down beside Jimin and let out a heavy sigh."This just means Jungkook isn't the one for you. You'll find someone else."

"What if I don't?" Jimin rubbed his eyes with the backs of his hands, wiping away tears.

"Jimin." Yoongi spoke with a stern tone."You're the one who kept setting me up on blind dates, determined to help me find the right person. If I could eventually find the right person, so can you. I mean, there have got to be a lot more people who like you, as opposed to the number of people who like me. I'm cranky and rude. You're really nice. You'll find someone who'll be your perfect match."

Lifting his gaze, Jimin forced himself to smile just slightly."Okay, Hyung. You're right."

"Of course I'm right." Yoongi gently pat Jimin's shoulder."Now wipe off your face, blow your nose, and get back to the line. The food can't make itself."


	16. Chapter 16

Yoongi didn't really know how he felt about this now. He had been all fine with Jungkook bringing his girlfriend to Burger Palace before, but now he didn't know if it was such a good idea. He hoped everything would go well. They had decided that Jungkook would show up with Chaeyoung near closing time. They were all going to eat dinner together and chat for a while."I texted Jin-hyung and asked him to join us." Yoongi told Jimin when it was getting close to time for Jungkook and Chaeyoung to arrive."After that bad date, I think he could use some time with friends. We could all chat and try to have a good time."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Jimin asked as he was putting away the last of the dishes he had washed."I mean, what if Jin-hyung is mad at me for that bad date?"

"Well, Jin-hyung...He..." Yoongi sighed softly."I highly doubt he could ever be mad at you."

Jimin cocked his head just a little to the side."Why do you say that?"

"All you did was ask him to go on the date." Yoongi couldn't say that it was because of Jin's crush on Jimin."You're not the one who made the date bad. Your damn friend is the one who made it so bad." Yoongi grumbled under his breath."I'd love to shove my foot up his dick hole."

Taehyung walked over and shook his head at Yoongi."Now see? That's the kind of thing you can't say around Kookie's girlfriend. Be more polite."

Yoongi placed his hands on his hips."I'll say whatever I want."

"Sure you will." Taehyung knew Yoongi better than that. He liked to pretend that he didn't care what people thought of the things he said, even though he really did care."Did you invite your boyfriend?"

"No. I wanted to, but I know Namjoon would have to bring him." Yoongi said with a sigh in his tone."I really don't want to see that fuckface, so I figured it would be best to just not invite Hoseok this time. I'm sure he'll understand."

Jimin shrugged his shoulders a little."Hoseok-hyung does seem like a really sweet person. I'm guessing he wouldn't want to bring Namjoon-hyung around Jin-hyung right now anyway."

"I hope Jin-hyung has a good time with us." Taehyung grinned widely.

"I'm sure he will." Yoongi had no doubt that his best friend would enjoy hanging out with everyone."Jin-hyung is a rather sociable person. So he'll like spending time with everyone to just eat and chat. Especially eat."

"I've never seen someone eat as much as Jin-hyung does." Jimin said with a chuckle."How does he stay so thin?"

Taehyung gave Jimin's shoulder a very small push."Jin-hyung is just cool like that."

"Um, I'm not actually that cool." Jin said as he was standing by the counter. He wondered how none of them had heard him enter. Perhaps they had been too busy chatting.

Yoongi turned to face Jin, feeling confused when he saw someone standing beside his best friend."You brought him with you?"

"Did you not want me to come or something?"

Jin rolled his eyes just slightly."I'm sure he's just a little surprised, Jackson."

"Well, yes, I am surprised." Yoongi hadn't expected this."Why did you bring Jackson?"

"Well, you see..." Jin nibbled on his lower lip.

Jackson grinned with a look of triumph."I'm his boyfriend now." he stated factually."I asked him out earlier today."

Yoongi had not expected this, despite the fact that he had made Jin promise to agree to date the next person who asked him out. He had not expected it to be Jackson."This is definitely unexpected, but I think it's a good thing."

"Good luck keeping him fed." Taehyung teased."Jin-hyung eats a lot."

"I eat a lot too, so I don't have a problem with that." Jackson lightly placed a hand on Jin's shoulder, like he wanted there to be some sort of visual sign that Jin was his.

Jimin eyed Jin and Jackson. He hoped Jin was feeling better and not quite so upset about the horrible blind date. He did feel awful about how it went."Jin-hyung, I'm sorry about the blind date." He just really felt the need to apologize.

Jin looked unsure of how to respond for a moment before making a small wave with his hand."It's okay, Jimin. You don't need to apologize." He couldn't possibly bring himself to blame Jimin for that horrible date. He liked Jimin too much for that. Hopefully, dating Jackson would help him get over his feelings for Jimin. Maybe Jackson would be a good boyfriend for him. He really hoped so.

Hearing someone come inside, Yoongi turned his gaze toward the entrance."Ah, Jungkook, there you are."

Jungkook held the door open for his girlfriend and smiled happily."Yup, here I am."

Yoongi made his way around the counter and smiled as he recognized Chaeyoung from the picture Jungkook had shown him earlier."You must be Chaeyoung. I'm Yoongi."

Chaeyoung let a sweet smile take over her lips."Jungkook-oppa has told me a lot about you."

"Oh, really?" Yoongi perked an eyebrow and looked up at Jungkook.

"All good things." Jungkook stated in defense.

Chaeyoung giggled cutely."He said you act tough, but you've really got the heart of a marshmallow."

"Yeah, a stale marshmallow." Jungkook joked.

Jimin decided to speak, not wanting to let his feelings for Jungkook get him down right now. This wouldn't be a good time to get upset, especially since Jungkook's girlfriend was here. Jimin really didn't want to ruin the mood."We'll get some food made for everyone. A bunch of cheeseburgers, right? Or do you just want a salad, Chaeyoung?" He assumed the pretty girl wouldn't eat much.

Chaeyoung proved him wrong though."I love cheeseburgers. Maybe I'll eat a couple and a salad."

This caused Jin and Jackson to both laugh lightly. Taehyung went to the food line with Jimin to get some burgers made. Yoongi nodded with approval."That proves it. You definitely belong with Jungkook." He thought Chaeyoung may be a really good girlfriend for Jungkook."I'll make a couple salads."

Jungkook made a motion toward a table."Let's have a seat." He stepped over to the table with Chaeyoung and watched her sit in the booth."See? I told you my friends would like you."

"I can't believe I was nervous to talk to them." Chaeyoung lifted a hand to twirl a strand of her hair."They all seem like really nice guys."


	17. Chapter 17

"I'm surprised everything went so well." Yoongi told Hoseok as they were just enjoying how quiet it was. It was just the two of them, chatting calmly."Jimin didn't make a scene with Jungkook's girlfriend. Jin-hyung kept his cool and showed off Jackson a little. I think things are going to be okay."

Hoseok chuckled lightly and gently nudged Yoongi's arm with his elbow."You care about your friends so much, Hyung. I hope you let them see this side of you."

Yoongi made a small wave with his hand, despite Hoseok not being able to see it. The motion was just a habit."Nah. I only act this way around them if it's important. I mean, I gave Jimin a kinda-sorta pep talk a bit before dinner. I think that made him feel a little better."

"Aw." Hoseok reached both hands to the side and managed to wrap his arms around Yoongi. However, he missed Yoongi's shoulders and ended up hugging his head.

"What are you doing?" Yoongi couldn't really complain though. Getting a head hug was still kind of nice because it was a hug from Hoseok.

"Well, I thought I was hugging you, but I missed." Hoseok adjusted his arms to move them around Yoongi's shoulders."There. That's better."

Yoongi couldn't help but smile. He loved any form of contact he got from his boyfriend. His whole body felt like it was going limp, just relaxing entirely in Hoseok's arms."You give really warm hugs."

Smiling happily, Hoseok didn't want to ever let go of Yoongi. He loved how perfectly his boyfriend fit in his arms like this."Are you melting?"

"Like ice cream." Yoongi mumbled with a little embarrassment. No previous boyfriend or girlfriend had caused Yoongi to melt like this. It was a new feeling, and he loved it. He didn't want this feeling to ever go away.

"Hyung, if you were ice cream, I'd eat you." Hoseok said with a low giggle.

"I'm not edible, Hoseok." Yoongi shifted his gaze to the side."I mean, there's a part of me that could go in your mouth, but uh...Hm..." He felt like an idiot for saying that. He and Hoseok still hadn't done anything more than simply kiss, so he didn't even know why he would bring up something like that.

Hoseok felt his cheeks heat up at the mere thought. However, he wasn't opposed to it."We could do that, you know." He felt Yoongi tense a little in his arms. That made him chuckle."Yoongi-hyung, we've been dating for three months now. I think it's okay for us to fool around a little. If you want to, I mean."

Yoongi pulled himself out of the hug and didn't know what he should say. Sure, he wanted that. He wanted more. He just really wanted it to be okay. And he didn't think this was a good place to do it. They were in Hoseok's bedroom, sitting on his bed, and Namjoon was just a couple rooms away."W-we would, um, need to be quiet."

"I can be quiet. Can you?" Biting his lower lip, Hoseok slid his hands down Yoongi's body, finding his way to his boyfriend's knees. Once he knew where his knees were, he shifted himself down onto the floor, getting on his own knees.

"Uh, yeah." Oh boy. Yoongi had not expected their pleasant time together to turn into this. Of course, he wasn't opposed to it. He was actually wanting it pretty badly. He wasn't used to taking a relationship slowly, like he was with Hoseok. So getting a bit of inappropriate pleasure would be great.

With a smile that could only be seen as innocent and bright, Hoseok spread Yoongi's knees just enough to fit himself between them. His hands felt their way up Yoongi's thighs, finding the crotch of his pants."This is going to be my first time doing this blind, so bare with me."

Reaching a hand down, Yoongi ran his fingers gently through Hoseok's hair."I'm sure you'll do just fine."

Feeling happy with Yoongi's confidence in him, Hoseok found the zipper of his boyfriend's pants and pulled it down. With just his sense of touch, he freed Yoongi's dick from the confines of his pants and underwear. His fingers wrapped around it, feeling it tenderly."Hm."

Yoongi curled his fingers just a little in Hoseok's hair, watching his handsome boyfriend."What?"

Hoseok shrugged his shoulders slightly."You're not as big as I thought you'd be."

"What the fuck, Hoseok?!" Now Yoongi was utterly embarrassed. Was his boyfriend seriously calling his dick small?

"I'm just kidding." Hoseok said with a chuckle."And I thought you were going to be quiet?"

"Hoseok, you fucking tease!" Yoongi growled lowly. He was about to curse again, but all that came out was a soft groan when his boyfriend's tongue licked a stripe from base to tip on the underside of his dick.

A smirk came over Hoseok's lips as he knew he could control Yoongi this way."You've been taking such good care of me, Hyung. Now it's my turn to take care of you." He licked a long stripe along Yoongi's dick again before sliding his tongue over the tip. His tongue dug into the slit, his ears picking up the sound of a small whimper.

"Damn it, Hoseok..." Yoongi bit his lower lip, watching as the tip of his dick was engulfed into the pretty, yet sinful, mouth of his boyfriend. He swore he could get hard and have the best orgasm of his life just by watching Hoseok. The feeling of the moist warmth of Hoseok's mouth was already starting to drive him crazy."Fuck..."

Hoseok took more into his mouth, sucking as his fingers stroked the base. He was highly pleased to hear quiet, breathy moans slipping out from Yoongi. He started bobbing his head, hollowing his cheeks. As he worked his mouth up and down Yoongi's now hardened dick, one of his hands moved to massage one of the older man's thighs.

Yoongi leaned his head back a little and gripped Hoseok's hair."Ahh...God, Hoseok..." His pleasure increased when Hoseok hummed around his dick, the vibrations making him twitch."Ah, shit..." He knew he wasn't going to last long. He was almost ready.

Taking Yoongi's dick in further, Hoseok began to deepthroat him with just a little difficulty. He loved hearing those moans, especially with his name mixed into them. Just a bit more sucking and a long, strained moan was heard from Yoongi. That told Hoseok what he needed to know. He pulled back just a little and suckled on the tip, just in time for Yoongi's cum to spill into his mouth.

Closing his eyes as he orgasmed, Yoongi felt his body tremble from the pleasure. Afterward, he peered down at Hoseok, watching his boyfriend swallow then lick any remaining drops of cum from his dick."Damn, Hoseok..."

Hoseok smiled and placed his hands onto Yoongi's slender thighs."You sound so sexy when you moan my name, Hyung."

"Fuck you." Yoongi turned his gaze to the side, not knowing how Hoseok could smile so cutely after swallowing cum.

"I'm sure we'll get to that eventually." Hoseok leaned forward, pressing his face against Yoongi's stomach and nuzzling lovingly.

The nuzzling took Yoongi by surprise and made him laugh a little."What are you doing, you weirdo?"

"I wanna snuggle." Hoseok wrapped his arms around Yoongi's waist and nuzzled into his stomach some more.

"How do you do this, Hoseok?" Yoongi asked as he stroked his boyfriend's hair."How can you go from cute to sexy and back to cute so easily?"

"I'm just wonderful that way." Hoseok responded with a happy smile.

Yoongi couldn't help but smile as well."Yes." he agreed."You are."


	18. Chapter 18

Yoongi lightly nibbled on his lower lip while he worked, thinking about the blowjob he had received from Hoseok yesterday. As much as he had enjoyed that, he couldn't help but wonder if it was really okay for them to do that. Were they moving a little too fast? He hoped not. It had only been three months since they started dating, so he didn't want to rush anything. However, he didn't know how long to wait for that sort of thing because he wasn't used to being in a patient relationship.

So was it really okay for that to happen? Hoseok seemed fine with it. Maybe it was okay. Yoongi just didn't want to ruin their relationship by going too fast. He also didn't want Hoseok to think he was taking advantage of him at all. After the blowjob, they had cuddled on Hoseok's bed for a little while before Namjoon ruined the moment by knocking on the bedroom door and asking if they wanted to go out drinking with him, to which Hoseok agreed until Yoongi told him not to do it.

Yoongi didn't really know if he had the right to tell Hoseok to not go drinking with Namjoon. He knew Hoseok and Namjoon were friends. He knew Hoseok trusted Namjoon. But he didn't like Namjoon. He didn't want to have anything to do with him after the way he had ruined that blind date with Jin.

Jimin was just watching Yoongi work, amazed that he was still efficient while being so lost in his thoughts. It was completely obvious that Yoongi was thinking really hard. He was frowning deeply and muttering under his breath, something Yoongi did intensely whenever he was deep in thought."Hyung, if you think any harder, smoke might come from your ears. What's up?"

Breaking away from his thoughts, Yoongi looked over at Jimin before turning his gaze back to the burgers he was preparing."I'm just thinking about some things, Jimin. It's nothing."

"It's not nothing. You never think that hard for nothing." Jimin was actually kind of glad Yoongi was thinking so hard. It meant he could talk about whatever problem Yoongi had, instead of thinking about his own problem. His problem was none other than Jungkook, who had shown up to work earlier than usual, just to show off a little card he and Chaeyoung had gotten from a fortunetelling machine. The card said that they were destined to be together forever, and Jungkook thought that was the greatest thing that could ever happen to him. It made Jimin sick.

"Well, if you must know, I'm thinking about Hoseok." Yoongi admitted.

Jimin's face immediately lit up."Are things finally moving along for you two?"

"What do you mean? Things have been fine for us the whole time we've been together." Yoongi could not express with words how relieved he was that he and Hoseok had not run into any problems in their relationship yet.

"No, I mean, have you guys gotten freaky yet?" Jimin was really interested in this. For one, it would take his mind off of Jungkook. Two, he had been trying to get Yoongi laid for so long. So many bad dates and grumpy days.

Yoongi's expression twisted to show some disgust."Your inner Namjoon is showing."

"Oh, come on. I'm not as bad as him." Jimin rolled his eyes and pressed the question."So have you?"

"No. I mean, not much." Yoongi really didn't want to talk about this with Jimin. The only person he wanted to share personal details with was Jin because he trusted him more than any of his other friends.

Jimin wanted to know the juicy details though."What have you two done? Please tell me. Come on, Hyung."

Shaking his head, Yoongi wrapped up the burgers he had been making."No, Jimin. That's personal information. It's on a need-to-know basis."

"But I need to know." Jimin pestered, practically pleading."My sex life is non-existent right now. I need to know about yours."

"I don't want to tell you about my sex life, you nincompoop." Yoongi perked up when he heard someone enter through the front door. Looking in that direction, he spotted Jin and Jackson."Ah, I'm saved." He rushed away from Jimin to take Jin's and Jackson's orders at the front register.

Jimin pouted and grabbed the burgers Yoongi had made, placing them into a paper bag. He took the bag to Taehyung at the drive-thru window."Here's the order, Tae."

"Why so glum, sugarplum?" Tae asked before turning to hand the bag out to the customer with a bright smile.

"It seems like every time I try to talk to Yoongi-hyung about stuff, someone shows up and takes his attention away from me." Jimin complained."It's like some outside force just makes people show up before I can get the juicy bits of info I want."

"Oh, I see." Taehyung chuckled at Jimin words."I can tell you about my sex life." he offered.

That certainly grabbed Jimin's attention."Tell me. Tell me."

Taehyung grinned widely."It doesn't exist at the moment."

"Ah, bummer." Jimin let out a heavy sigh."We both need active sex lives."

"Sex isn't everything, you two." Jungkook said with a smarter-than-you tone as he could hear his hyungs from where he stood by the door to the backroom."Chaeyoung and I have decided that we're going to take things slow and have some really nice dates. By nice, I mean simple because neither of us can afford much."

Taehyung shrugged his shoulders."I'm not interested in dating right now. I'm not even that interested in sex. I just want to be with someone for company."

"Yeah, me too." Jimin just wanted to be with Jungkook, but at this moment, he just wanted someone to keep him company, ease him through the fact that he couldn't be with the one he liked so much.

"Maybe you two can just date each other." Jungkook suggested."If you both just want company, just do that."

Taehyung and Jimin paused for a moment, looked at each other, then both laughed as if Jungkook had just told them the funniest joke. Within this laughter, Taehyung made a small wave with his hand to dismiss the suggestion."No way. Jiminie isn't my type."

Jimin lightly smacked Taehyung's arm."You're not my type either, doofus."

Jungkook just rolled his eyes and went back into the backroom. He had some dishes to wash.


	19. Chapter 19

Yoongi sighed with relief as he wiped off the last table. Finally the tables were all clean. Until he heard the all-too-familiar sound of a drink spilling."Ah, shit." Turning with a groan, he instantly bit back his own voice when he saw who had spilled the drink.

"Yoongi-hyung, I'm so sorry!" Hoseok had been drinking some soda while waiting for Yoongi to finish closing up the place. He had tried to grab his drink and ended up knocking it over.

"It's alright. It's fine." Yoongi rushed over to Hoseok to grab the cup."I'll get this cleaned up. It's no big deal."

Hoseok felt really bad for this. He knew Yoongi had been working so hard to get this place clean while the others were cleaning the food line, drive-thru windows, and backroom."I'll help you. I made such a mess."

With a soft smile on his lips, Yoongi lightly pat Hoseok's head."You don't need to do that. Cleaning up messes is part of my job."

"But--" Hoseok didn't even get to protest or argue. His lips were silenced by Yoongi's lips, a simple peck shutting him up.

"Just wait here. I'll be right back." Yoongi hadn't wanted to resist the urge to kiss Hoseok. He loved those soft lips. With a little heat in his cheeks, Yoongi hurried to get the mop and bucket from the backroom.

Hoseok let out a heavy sigh once he knew Yoongi had gone. He really hadn't meant to spill his drink. He had been sure that he had known exactly where it was, but he misjudged it. Hearing footsteps come close to him, he perked up a little."Yoongi-hyung?"

"Uh, no." Jimin smiled and seated himself across from Hoseok."I'm Jimin."

"Oh, hi." Hoseok smiled brightly."You're also friends with Namjoon, right? I've heard him mention your name."

"Yup. That's me." Jimin glanced at the spilled soda before returning his gaze to Hoseok."You know, the last time I spilled a drink, Yoongi-hyung practically tore my head off for it. But he is so whipped for you."

"He is? Really?" Hoseok lowered his head a little, seeming like he wasn't happy about that.

Jimin grinned widely."Yeah. It's great to see him so interested in someone. He went through a lot of shitty relationships. Nothing ever really worked out for him. But now, he has you. And he's been a lot calmer lately." He chuckled as he thought of the changes in Yoongi's behavior."Sometimes, he spaces out and has this look of peace on his face. I just know that he thinks about you whenever he does that. He totally loves you."

Hoseok bit his bottom lip and slumped his shoulders a little."You really think he loves me?"

"Yeah, of course. It's completely obvious." Jimin felt so sure of this."He fell for you so hard." His grin died down when he saw that Hoseok didn't look happy."What's wrong? You love Yoongi-hyung too, don't you?"

"No. I don't." Hoseok needed to be honest."I'm very fond of him, but I don't love him." This made Hoseok feel like shit."He's so cute and caring and honest. He's so straightforward with what he's feeling and thinking. He wonderful." He let out a heavy sigh."I'm just not in love."

Jimin didn't understand."You say all these nice things about him, but you don't love him? I don't get it."

A hum came from Hoseok before more words."Love isn't just simple, Jimin. It's not the same for everyone."

"But you want to be with Yoongi-hyung, right?" This was beginning to worry Jimin. What if this was turning out to be another failed relationship for Yoongi? He didn't think Yoongi could handle another heartbreak.

Hoseok nodded simply."Yeah, of course I do."

"Jimin, what are you doing out here? You're supposed to be helping Taehyung clean the food line." Yoongi had returned with the mop and bucket."Stop bothering, Hoseok. You have stuff to do."

Jimin flashed a smile at Yoongi."Sorry, Hyung. I just thought he could use a little company." He leaned over to speak quickly and quietly to Hoseok."Please just don't hurt him." He didn't want Yoongi to go through yet another failed relationship. Getting up, he made his way past Yoongi and back to the food line.

Yoongi rolled his eyes and took the mop and bucket to the mess."Sorry for taking so long. I had to get fresh water and soap."

"It's fine. Jimin and I were just chatting a little." Hoseok made himself smile, even as Jimin's words remained in his mind."He seems like he's a good friend to you."

"Eh, he's okay." Yoongi started mopping up the mess."He's a bit of a brat sometimes. I think that's why he gets along with Namjoon. But he's a mostly sweet person. I just wish he could be a little more serious at times."

"Do you mean that only brats can get along with Namjoon?" Hoseok let out a half-hearted huff."I get along with Namjoon. He's my best friend. Does that mean I'm a brat?"

Yoongi paused, all movement halting as he didn't know how to answer this. He didn't want to hurt Hoseok's feelings, but he also didn't want to contradict himself."Uh, yes?"

"Okay. I accept that." Hoseok wasn't bothered by being called a brat. He did have bratty moments sometimes, especially whenever he hung around Namjoon.

Resuming mopping, Yoongi was relieved by Hoseok's response."Once this place is all cleaned up, do you want to come over to my place?" he asked with a little nervousness in his tone."I was thinking we could, um...just hang. Maybe...make out."

That just made Hoseok chuckle at how cute it was for Yoongi to suggest that. He had sounded so unsure about it."You're asking if I would like to make out with you?"

"Well, yeah." Yoongi groaned softly and moved a hand up to scratch the back of his neck."I don't want to just assume you're cool with anything. I want to make sure you are okay with it. I just...I want your consent."

Hoseok just melted at that."You're so sweet, Hyung. You have my consent. I want to make out with you."

"Oh, that's good." Yoongi finished mopping up the mess then reached out to ruffle Hoseok's hair."The others will hopefully be done cleaning soon. I'll help them out to get it done quicker. Once it's all done, we can go."

Hoseok smiled as his hair was ruffled, but his smile faded once he heard Yoongi's footsteps move away. He thought about what Jimin said. Did Yoongi really love him? What if he ended up hurting Yoongi because he didn't love him back? He was very fond of Yoongi and definitely wanted to be with him, but was that enough? Hoseok was hoping that his feelings would develop into love over time, but what if it never happened? He really didn't want to hurt Yoongi.


	20. Chapter 20

"Are you okay, Hoseok?" Yoongi asked softly as he was leading his boyfriend along the sidewalk."You're being unusually quiet."

"What do you mean?" Hoseok kept getting lost in his thoughts about his little conversation with Jimin.

Yoongi glanced at Hoseok then returned his gaze forward."You usually talk my ear off while we walk. Or you hum. Or you make that annoying popping sound with your lips."

"The popping sound annoys you?" That was news to Hoseok. He had thought it didn't bother Yoongi.

With a sigh, Yoongi stopped walking, making sure Hoseok stopped too."That's not the point." He lowered his gaze to their clasped hands before peering at his boyfriend's handsome face."Is something wrong? If anything is wrong, you can tell me."

Hoseok gently shook his head, smiling brightly."Nope. Nothing's wrong, Hyung."

"Are you sure?" Yoongi normally liked the quiet, but he had grown so used to Hoseok's constant talking and noise-making. He felt a little lonely without it.

"Yeah, definitely. Everything is a-okay." Hoseok wished he knew what kind of expression Yoongi's face held, wanting to know if his boyfriend believed him or not.

"Okay. If you say so." Yoongi couldn't help but feel a little worried though."If anything is ever wrong, make sure you tell me."

With a low chuckle, Hoseok gave Yoongi's hand a small squeeze."Are you worried about me, Hyung? How cute."

"I just want to make sure nothing is wrong." Giving Hoseok's hand a gentle tug, Yoongi resumed walking, leading his boyfriend along.

Now Hoseok was definitely sure that Jimin had been right about Yoongi's behavior changing. Before, Yoongi would get embarrassed and raise his voice if Hoseok said anything he did was cute. But now, he remained calm and a bit serious. Was this his doing? Had he really caused Yoongi to change this way? Not that it was bad. Hoseok had just enjoyed it whenever Yoongi would snap with embarrassment.

It got quiet again as they walked the rest of the way to Yoongi's house. But when they got there, Yoongi broke the silence after unlocking the front door."Hoseok." He opened the door and led his handsome boyfriend inside."I know I said we would just hang and make out, but..."

After stepping inside with Yoongi, Hoseok tilted his head just slightly to the side."You want to do something else?"

Yoongi gulped down an imaginary lump in his throat. He should just say it, right? No beating around the bush."Hoseok, I want to take you to my bed."

"Your bed?" Hoseok had been anticipating this. He had been eager. But after his little conversation with Jimin, he was unsure."You mean, you want to..."

"I want to make love to you." A bit of heat formed in Yoongi's cheeks."But if you don't want to, I'll understand. It's your choice. I just thought it'd be good to tell you that I want to. No pressure."

"No pressure, huh?" Hoseok couldn't help but smile softly at that. He really adored how caring Yoongi was toward him."Can we just make out and see where it goes?"

Yoongi was not disappointed at all. He would never think of pressuring Hoseok in any way. Besides, any contact with his boyfriend was enough to make him happy."Of course."

"Oh, but we can make out on your bed. I think that would be nice." Hoseok really did want to become better acquainted with Yoongi's bed. He had slept in it just the one time before, and that was it.

With a pleased smile, Yoongi kicked off his shoes and watched Hoseok do the same. Then, he guided Hoseok to his bedroom."Oh boy, I should have cleaned my room."

That made Hoseok chuckle."Why? I can't see it. So I don't really care if it's messy."

"I just don't want you to trip. Hang on a minute." Yoongi released Hoseok's hand and started grabbing some dirty clothes from the floor.

"I can help." Hoseok offered.

"Uh, no. It's mainly just clothes." Yoongi started tossing the clothes into the corner of the room, not really interested in being super clean right now. He just didn't want to risk Hoseok tripping or falling."Besides, don't you think it would be weird if you--oh, I don't know--picked up a pair of my underwear?"

"Are you seriously worried about that?" Hoseok made a small 'tsk tsk' before continuing."Yoongi-hyung, I've sucked your dick. I don't think it would be a big deal if I picked up your underwear."

Yoongi groaned quietly."Yeah, I know. And you called my dick small. Don't think you're off the hook for that."

"I was just teasing you." Wanting to forget about his thoughts and be a bit playful, Hoseok made a small hum."Are you going to punish me for it?"

"I should." Once he had tossed a majority of his dirty clothes into a pile in the corner, Yoongi returned to Hoseok."I don't know how to punish such a fluffy sweetheart though." He gently grabbed Hoseok's hand to lead him to the bed, both of them sitting down."But I'm sure I can think of something."

Hoseok could feel himself blushing faintly as Yoongi released his hand, his hyung's fingers ghosting up his arm and over his shoulder."I'll accept any punishment you give me."

Yoongi's gaze swept over every inch of his boyfriend that his fingers touched until he slipped his hand around to the back of Hoseok's head."Good boy." Pulling Hoseok down a little, he captured his lips, not quite as gently as usual.

An instant response was given from Hoseok. Those plush lips made him relax and push away his self-doubt. As they kissed, one of Hoseok's hands felt its way up to Yoongi's neck, lightly touching the side of it. Their lips were starting to mesh together in the most beautiful way, like they were made to be like this. But something else soon grabbed Hoseok's attention.

As they were both slipping into a state of comfort and peace with this kiss, Yoongi placed his other hand onto Hoseok's thigh. He massaged gently for a moment before allowing his hand to slide to Hoseok's inner thigh. Yoongi had thought about this a lot lately. Touching Hoseok was something he really wanted to do. And he didn't know how to be subtle with it. That would just make him feel awkward. So he decided to be bold. If Hoseok didn't like it, he would stop.

Hoseok's heart thumped in his chest when Yoongi's hand moved to his crotch. As those long fingers began to rub, he lost rhythm with the kiss, his mind unable to concentrate on it now. But his loss of correct rhythm didn't seem to effect Yoongi. In fact, his boyfriend just took the chance to insert his tongue.

Yoongi tangled his fingers into Hoseok's hair as his other hand rubbed his boyfriend's crotch. His tongue nudged Hoseok's, initiating a tender match of playful wrestling. He resisted a smirk that tried to take over his lips when he felt Hoseok's legs spread a bit for him. That was enough confirmation that his boyfriend was enjoying it.

This was really turning Hoseok on a lot. He could feel some discomfort forming in his pants as they were starting to feel a little too tight. He whimpered quietly into their kiss, which soon broke."Hyung..." Hoseok inhaled some needed oxygen and wished he could see Yoongi's face. He wanted to know if his boyfriend was as excited as he was.

Yoongi got a breath then latched his mouth onto Hoseok's neck, kissing as well as giving some kitten licks."Hm?" he hummed, his hand beginning to rub Hoseok's crotch a bit rougher. He was very pleased to be able to feel how hard Hoseok was becoming.

"More...Please..." Coming into this, Hoseok had been unsure, but he was enjoying it now. Getting more of his boyfriend couldn't hurt anything, right?

"You want more?" Yoongi teased, giving Hoseok's neck a playful bite before kissing the same spot.

Hoseok let out a needy whine."Yes, Hyung...Please..."

Suddenly, Yoongi stopped all touches. He pulled away and stood."Nah."

"Hyung..?" Hoseok was confused. Why did Yoongi stop?"What are you doing..?"

"I'm going to watch TV." Turning, Yoongi headed to the bedroom door.

"What..!?" Well, this was unexpected. Hoseok was shocked."But...but..."

Yoongi chuckled at Hoseok's reaction."This is your punishment, Hoseokie."

Hoseok's jaw dropped. His punishment was getting turned on and left with a very uncomfortable erection?"Hyung, you are cruel!" he whined. But he couldn't possibly be mad. He had said that he would accept any punishment. Besides, he got to hear a heartwarming sound. Yoongi laughed.


	21. Chapter 21

"So..." Namjoon cleared his throat quietly before asking the question that was on his mind."Did you get laid yet?"

Hoseok sighed and slumped his shoulders."No."

This caused Namjoon to groan."Why not?" He plopped down onto the couch and put his feet up onto the coffee table.

"I don't think it would be right, Namjoon." Hoseok carefully made his way over to where he knew there was a chair and seated himself."I don't know what to do."

Namjoon leaned back a bit and folded his hands together on his stomach. He was wondering what could possibly be wrong with Hoseok. His friend had been frowning ever since he picked him up from Yoongi's house. He had hoped that Hoseok finally got laid since he had stayed the night with Yoongi, but that apparently didn't happen."You don't know what to do about what?"

"About Yoongi-hyung." Hoseok had enjoyed sleeping in Yoongi's bed again last night. Yoongi had slept beside him, but it had been awkward. Their time together had been so enjoyable, but Hoseok felt like he closed himself off from Yoongi once it was time to sleep."Namjoon, he loves me."

"And that's a bad thing?" Namjoon was confused. How could that possibly be bad? Didn't Hoseok want to be loved? He wanted a successful relationship, right?"That guy is so whipped for you, Hoseok. If only you could see the way he looks at you. I saw it when I picked you up. Yoongi-hyung didn't want you to leave. He was staring at you with full-blown heart eyes."

"But that's the problem." Hoseok whined as he leaned back and slouched in the comfortable chair."Last night..." He couldn't get it out of his head."Yoongi-hyung said he wants to make love to me."

Namjoon instantly sat upright."And?"

Cocking his head a little to the side, Hoseok pursed his lips for a second before continuing."Well, we made out a bit, but that's it. I think it would be nice to have sex with him, but..."

"But what? Hoseok, you're killing me." Namjoon had no idea what was stopping Hoseok from having sex with Yoongi.

"Namjoon, you don't get it, do you?" This was frustrating for Hoseok."He doesn't want just sex. He wants to make love."

"Oh." Now Namjoon understood."You don't love him. Am I right?"

Just hearing those words made Hoseok feel like crap."What should I do? He means so much to me. He's such a sweet boyfriend, even though he often fails at portraying his feelings. I just...don't want to hurt him."

Namjoon shifted his gaze to the side, not really knowing what Hoseok should do. He had never been in such a situation himself. But he had experienced something similar, from another perspective.

"I must be a terrible boyfriend..." Hoseok whined, his voice coming out shaky.

The unsteady tone caught Namjoon's attention and caused him to snap his gaze back to Hoseok."Hey, Hoseok, it'll be okay." Getting off the couch, he rushed over to squat down in front of his teary friend."Don't cry. The sun doesn't cry."

"I'm not the sun..." Hoseok tried to push Namjoon, but one hand missed while the other made contact with his face."Sorry..."

Namjoon rubbed his nose a little."It's fine." He knew Hoseok hadn't meant to hit his face."But seriously, Hoseok. You've always been everyone's bright sunshine. Don't let some bad thoughts ruin that."

"Maybe I don't want to be everyone's sunshine..." Hoseok sniffled as a few tears trickled down his cheeks."Maybe...Maybe I want someone to be my sunshine..."

With an unseen smile, Namjoon gently pushed some hair behind Hoseok's ear."Someone is going to be your sunshine. Just give it time." He cupped Hoseok's cheek and sighed softly."Yoongi-hyung clearly loves you. Maybe someday, you'll love him too. But you need to decide what you should do for now."

Hoseok tried to hold back his need to cry, but he couldn't. He felt like he was being unfair to Yoongi."But what can I do..? I don't want to hurt him, Namjoon..."

"No matter what you do, there's a chance that he'll get hurt." Namjoon wasn't going to lie about this."Your decision will only change how he gets hurt and how much it will be."

"What are my choices..?" This felt like it was going to be the hardest decision of Hoseok's life.

Namjoon moved his hand down to Hoseok's knee and gave it a small squeeze."Before I tell you the choices, I want to tell you a secret. It might help you understand."

"Understand what..?" Hoseok was confused. As he cried softly, he just wanted to know his choices, so he could try to pick the one that would hopefully hurt Yoongi the least.

"Your choices and the impact they might have." Namjoon cleared his throat, embarrassed about what he was about to say."Hoseok, I haven't always been the type to sleep around. I had a great relationship once."

Well, this was news to Hoseok."Really..? With who..?" he asked with a sniffle.

Namjoon's thumb rubbed Hoseok's kneecap soothingly."A guy named Yongguk. He was a true hunk. Handsome, smart, sweet, funny. I wanted to be with him forever. We dated for over a year, and I thought we were pretty serious. I loved him."

"But what happened..?" Hoseok had a really bad feeling about this.

Namjoon's lips curled into a sad smile."He finally broke up with me. He said he knew how much I loved him, but he couldn't return the feelings. He kept dating me for that long because he hoped he could grow bigger feelings for me, but it never happened."

"So that's why...you don't want to try to date someone again..." Hoseok felt like he understood that much."You're scared of getting hurt again..."

"Yeah." Namjoon didn't want to get attached to someone again."So your choices with Yoongi-hyung are...You can break up with him if you think you won't develop stronger feelings for him. Or you can stay with him, hope your feelings grow, and risk hurting him worse later on if the feelings don't turn to love."

Hoseok's heart felt like it stopped. Were those really his choices? He could break Yoongi's heart by breaking up with him. Or he could stay with Yoongi and risk making it so much worse later on if things didn't work out."Namjoon, I..." He didn't know what to choose."I..."


	22. Chapter 22

"It ended just like that? Are you serious?" Jimin was trying to wrap his mind around what he had just been told."With no warning at all? Just done?"

Yoongi nodded with a heavy sigh."I can't believe it either. I had such high expectations."

"What a bummer." Jimin sighed as well, feeling quite let down."I was looking forward to seeing it myself."

"Well, don't." Yoongi slumped his shoulders."It had a terrible ending. I mean, the rest was okay. Not horrible but not that good either. But the ending really ruined it."

"What are you talking about?" Taehyung asked from his spot at the drive-thru window. Work was pretty slow right now. The lunch rush had ended a little bit ago.

Jimin pouted."That new movie Hyung went to see. Apparently, the protagonist dies at the very end."

Leaving the drive-thru window, Taehyung stepped over to the front counter to chat with Jimin and Yoongi."Who did you go with?"

Yoongi stuffed his hands into the pockets of his pants."I went alone."

Taehyung gave a small, exaggerated gasp."You went to the theater alone? Why didn't you take Jin-hyung? Or your boyfriend?"

"Jin-hyung was with Jackson." Yoongi leaned against the counter."And taking Hoseok would be dumb. Why would I take my blind boyfriend to the theater?"

"You could have taken me and Jimin." Taehyung loved going to the theater. He didn't really care who he accompanied.

Yoongi perked an eyebrow at Taehyung and made a 'pft' at him."You don't actually want to watch anything at the theater though. You just go for the popcorn."

"Of course I just go for the popcorn. Theater popcorn is yummy." Taehyung wiggled his eyebrows at Yoongi."So can I go to the theater with you next time? You can just buy me popcorn, and I'll let you enjoy the movie."

Being in complete disagreement to that suggestion, Yoongi pulled his hands out of his pockets and folded his arms across his chest."Not a chance, asswipe. I'm not taking you with me. You talk too much. And you can buy your own damn popcorn."

When Taehyung pouted at Yoongi's response, Jimin smiled and lightly pat Taehyung's shoulder."It's okay, Tae. I'd buy popcorn for you."

"Really?" Taehyung's whole face lit up.

"No." Jimin laughed when his flat answer caused Taehyung to slap his arm.

Yoongi rolled his eyes then glanced around."Where's Jungkook? He usually chats with you two when business is slow."

Jimin jutted his thumb toward the back."He's in the kitchen, texting his girlfriend. Whenever he texts her, he smiles at his phone like a lovestruck teenager. It makes me sick."

"Is that jealousy I hear?" Taehyung teased.

"I'm not jealous." Jimin denied, placing his hands onto his hips with a huff."I just think she's bad news. That girl is too cute and sweet. She's got to be hiding some evil underneath all that sweetness."

Yoongi sighed and shook his head."You're just saying that because you don't like her. And you don't like her because she's dating Jungkook, instead of you. Just get over it." He really didn't see why anyone would dislike Chaeyoung."I think she seems like a really nice girl. Give her a chance. Jungkook is happy with her, so let them enjoy being together."

"You can only be so calm about it because you have Hoseok-hyung." Jimin didn't think it was right that he was the only one who didn't like Chaeyoung. He didn't want to admit that his dislike of the girl was just because of his jealousy."If he dumped you, your attitude toward other people's relationships would be so different."

"Why would Hoseok dump me?" Yoongi scoffed at the mere thought."We get along great. He's really understanding, which is exactly the type of person I've been needing."

Jimin puffed up his chest, like a bird ready to defend its nest. In this case, he was defending his own point. At least, he thought he had a point. In reality, he was just envious and taking it out on Yoongi."He's everything you've been needing, but are  _you_ everything  _he's_ been needing?"

Yoongi really didn't like the way Jimin was talking to him."Jimin, you are overstepping your bounds. Shut your face before I shut it for you."

"Oh, I'd like to see you try." Narrowing his eyes and scrunching his brow, Jimin wasn't backing down. His brain was no longer controlling his mouth. Words spilled out with no thoughts holding them back."You're trying to be a Mr. Tough Guy, but we both know you only feel confident because you have a good-looking boyfriend. Well, things aren't as peachy as you fool yourself into thinking."

Taehyung glanced between the two, really wishing they wouldn't argue like this. Yoongi and Jimin were both known to have short tempers, and Taehyung never really knew what to do whenever they fought."Jimin, maybe you shouldn't say things like that." he spoke nervously to try to defuse the situation.

But neither of them listened to him."What are you talking about?" Yoongi tapped his foot with frustration."There is nothing wrong with my relationship with Hoseok."

"You're so stupid, Hyung." Jimin spat, being too mad to care about what he was saying. He couldn't even give any thought to how this might make Yoongi feel."You only see the surface. You're not even bothering to look deeper and see how he actually feels. You're happy, so you're satisfied with that."

"Jimin..." Taehyung was getting severely uneasy about this. There was no way a situation like this could end smoothly.

"You think everything is so nice and perfect, but it's not." Jimin reached a hand out and offensively poked Yoongi's chest."You love him so much. Everyone can see it. You love him, but here's the harsh truth, Hyung." Jimin couldn't even stop himself from saying this. It was like a brain malfunction, thought travel to his mouth was hindered."He doesn't love you."

"Go home, Jimin. You're out of line." Yoongi glared at Jimin and watched him storm around the counter and out the front door, not even bothering to clock himself out. Yoongi would have to remember to fix that later. But right now, his mind was stuck on those words.

_He doesn't love you._

That couldn't be true. Could it? Yoongi had thought everything was going well. Was he the only one who was happy in the relationship? Had he been blind to Hoseok's true feelings?


	23. Chapter 23

Yoongi didn't know how long it had been since he last moved. He was just lying face-down on his sofa, hungry and miserable. His head was throbbing. His nose was stuffed up. His throat was sore. However, he did nothing to help himself feel better. He didn't know what to do. He hadn't shown up to work for two days now. He just couldn't do it. He knew what everyone must be thinking. They all probably thought he was sick. Maybe he was. He didn't know. He couldn't distinguish what was causing this mess within him.

For the past two days, Yoongi hadn't gone anywhere. He hadn't eaten anything. He hadn't taken a shower. He had done nothing at all. He planned to remain this way for a while longer. He just couldn't muster the motivation to get up and do anything. There had been a knock on the front door about an hour ago, but Yoongi had just pretended to not exist.

Whoever had been there didn't stick around for long. Yoongi was thankful for that. His pounding head just couldn't take the knocking. Even the silence of his house was killing him. There was a ringing in his ears that would probably only go away if there was some other sound to grab his attention, but there was nothing.

Yoongi began to doze off, slipping into dreamland. However, he didn't quite make it there. The sound of knocking pulled him out of it. Who was knocking? Why couldn't the world just leave him alone for a while longer? Who was it? Yoongi was given an answer of who was at his door when he heard the familiar sound of a key entering the lock. Only one person had a spare key to his house.

The front door opened then closed. Shoes were removed and left near the door. The annoying rustle of a plastic bag--probably a shopping bag--was heard as soft steps of socked feet came into the living room."Yoongi, are you okay?"

Not even lifting his head, Yoongi cracked inside."Do I look okay, Jin-hyung?"

"You sound awful." Jin moved closer to the couch and squatted down to be closer to Yoongi's level. He set his plastic bag onto the floor and opened it."I came by earlier and didn't get an answer. I assumed you were sick, so I went to the store to get some things." He started pulling things out of the bag."I got some cough drops, pain relievers, a little thermometer, an icepack, nasal spray, and a bottle of Coke."

"You didn't need to get anything for me." Yoongi rolled onto his side to face Jin.

Jin wagged a finger at Yoongi."Of course I did. If I don't take care of you, who else will?" He reached out to gently stroke Yoongi's hair."You're my best friend, and I love you like a little brother. So just let me take care of you." Taking the thermometer out of its thin packaging, Jin held it in front of Yoongi's mouth."Now open up."

Yoongi didn't argue. He knew it wouldn't do him any good. He opened his mouth and lifted his tongue for the end of the thermometer to be placed beneath it. He closed his lips around the thermometer and waited for the beep that would indicate that it was done.

When the thermometer beeped, Jin pulled it out of Yoongi's mouth and read the temperature."Well, you don't have a fever. That's a relief." He gave Yoongi's shoulder a small pat."Now sit up. Take some medicine then have a nice shower. You stink."

Doing as he was told, Yoongi sat up and grabbed the bottle of Coke and the generic pain relievers Jin had bought for him. He took two pills with a gulp of the Coke. After screwing the lid back onto the Coke, Yoongi stood from the sofa and sighed."I'll make my shower quick, Jin-hyung."

"No, take your time. It'll help you feel better." Jin got up from the floor and smiled fondly at Yoongi."I'll make you something to eat."

"If you say so." Yoongi knew better than to talk back to Jin, so he would just do as Jin wanted. Besides, Jin was just taking care of him, so it was fine.

Jin watched Yoongi leave the living room. He listened to the sounds of his footsteps as he went to his bedroom then the bathroom. He waited to hear the water start running before going to the kitchen to make something to eat. Jin was worried. He had thought that Yoongi was sick. However, he didn't seem sick. Sure, he was obviously very miserable, but it appeared to be something different. As he started getting some things from the cabinets, Jin thought about the possibilities, and he recognized it all. It was very similar to how Yoongi had been before but worse.

"What happened to you?" Jin asked the silence as he started preparing food. It was clear to him that Yoongi was very upset about something, fallen into a pit of sadness from which it would be difficult to retrieve him.

Jin didn't make anything complicated, just some noodles with small bits of pork and chopped carrots mixed into it. He just needed to make sure Yoongi got some food in his stomach. He didn't want him to really get sick. Jin was fully aware that Yoongi wouldn't eat while he was upset unless someone made sure of it.

"I'm done, Hyung." Yoongi stated simply as he entered the kitchen. His wet hair was a mess, and he had just thrown on a large white shirt and black shorts.

Making a motion toward the table, Jin was pleased that Yoongi was being so compliant."Have a seat. I'll scoop some food into a bowl for you." He grabbed a bowl from the cabinet and scooped from food into it, sticking a fork in as well. He also retrieved Yoongi's Coke from the living room. Taking the Coke and food to the table, he set them down in front of Yoongi before sitting across from him."Mind telling me what's wrong?"

Yoongi grabbed the fork and poked at his food a little."Hyung..."

"It's okay, Yoongi." Jin knew Yoongi didn't like to talk about his problems; it made him feel weak. Jin understood that."Whenever you want to talk, I'll listen."


	24. Chapter 24

**Two Days Earlier**

 

Yoongi bit his lower lip as he wandered outside, lightly kicking at a pebble as he went over phrases in his head.  _Do you love me?_ He shook his head. _No, too forward...Hoseok, I love you._ He frowned deeply and held back a groan.  _I can't just say it, can I? What if Jimin's right? What if Hoseok doesn't love me?_ These thoughts just wouldn't stop running through his head.

This was so frustrating. This was a big reason why Yoongi was so inexperienced with actual relationships. He never knew how to handle feelings. Right now, he couldn't even figure out his own feelings, let alone Hoseok's. He had no hope of deciphering Hoseok's feelings without understanding his own. Yoongi knew one thing for certain. He wanted to be with Hoseok for a very long time.

Was this love? Yoongi thought it was. However, there were other feelings mixed into it. Fear. Anxiety. Panic. Yoongi was so afraid. Everything seemed perfect. What if it all wasn't as perfect as he thought?

Where was he even going? Yoongi lifted his gaze, setting the little pebble free from its beating. Oh. He had wandered in the direction of Hoseok's and Namjoon's house. He wondered if Hoseok was home. Should he stop by to see him?  _What good would that do?_ he wondered.

"Ah, fuck this." Yoongi groaned as he spun around to walk in the opposite direction. He intended to just head home and not deal with this crap right now. Much to his surprise, he ran right into someone. A white bag full of small boxes of Chinese food crashed to the ground, spilling messily."Shit, I'm sorry." Yoongi squatted down to begin picking up the spilled food.

"It's quite alright." A deep, silky voice spoke so smoothly. The voice was light, like the owner of it was completely content.

Yoongi looked up at the other person, his eyes taking in the appearance of a tall, handsome man."I wasn't watching where I was going. My bad."

The man gave a small wave of his hand."I admit that I was not watching either. I was lost in thought."

"You too, huh?" Yoongi let out a sigh as he and the other man picked up the Chinese food, placing it all back into the white bag."Sorry about your food, man."

"Hey, it's fine. It wasn't even for me." The man straightened himself up as Yoongi did as well."So you were lost in thought too?" he asked as he cocked his head a little to the side.

Yoongi shifted his gaze to the side."Ah, well...uh..."

The man chuckled, his voice sounding even deeper than when he simply spoke."You don't have to tell me. It's your business." He rolled the end of the white bag to close it, containing the mess within it."Though, if something is bothering you, it can be easier to talk to a stranger. A stranger's judgment means nothing, especially compared to the judgment of someone close to you."

"I suppose it could be...therapeutic." Yoongi was unsure though. Was he willing to spill his thoughts to a stranger? Maybe."Under one condition."

"What's the condition?" the man asked with a perked eyebrow.

Yoongi shrugged his shoulders slightly."You tell me your thoughts first?" He hoped that would be okay. It would certainly make it fair.

"That would be fine with me." The man made a small motion, as if to invite Yoongi to walk with him."Mind if we talk on our way to East Gate? I need to get some new food."

"Yeah, yeah, that's fine." Maybe Yoongi was only talking to this man because he felt bad for ruining his food. Maybe he thought it would be nice to chat with someone new. And maybe he needed to talk to someone who wasn't familiar with his situation. He needed an outsider's perspective, a new point of view.

As the two of them began walking in the direction of East Gate, the taller man made a soft hum before speaking."I guess I'll begin." He cleared his throat a bit."I was thinking about how much my life is about to change. My life has been going through some big changes over the past year." A smile graced his thin lips."I married the love of my life last year. We moved in together. I've transferred jobs to make things easier for our shared lives. It's all been one big decision after another." The man raised a hand to rake his fingers through his dark hair."And now, I'm going to be a father. My wife is pregnant with our first child, and I don't know if I'm ready."

Listening to this stranger caused a small smile to come over Yoongi's lips. It sounded like a wonderful life."You love your wife a lot, don't you?"

"Yes. She means the world to me." The man stuffed the white bag of spilled food into a public trashcan as they passed by it."I know she's excited to be bearing our first child. She tells me daily how much she hopes it's a girl, but..."

"But what?" Yoongi peered up at the other man with curiosity."It all sounds so perfect. What's wrong?"

The man scratched the back of his neck."I have no experience with babies. I've never even held one before."

"Oh." Yoongi could see how that would make anyone nervous."Maybe your wife can help you learn how to take care of your child. You two can learn together. You'll bond with each other more and also bond with your child."

"You're right." The man really didn't want to worry so much. He wanted to be prepared."I suppose being nervous and scared is natural."

With a small nod, Yoongi agreed."Yeah, I'm sure it is." Soon, he pointed ahead."Ah, we're here." They had reached East Gate.

Looking ahead at the Chinese restaurant, the man grimaced just a little."I'm not looking forward to the rush of smells. Chinese food smells delicious but not when the smell is overpowering." Just as he moved to enter, he stopped when he felt Yoongi touch his arm."Hm?"

"Let me pay for your food. I insist." Yoongi felt bad about ruining the food before.

The man didn't argue, just smiled and accepted the kind gesture."Alright. Thank you."

As Yoongi entered the restaurant with the taller man, his nose was assaulted by the powerful aroma. It wasn't necessarily bad, just too strong."Wow, that  _is_ strong." He glanced at the man beside him as they made their way over to the counter."By the way, I'm Yoongi. I hope you don't mind me asking, but what's your name?" It seemed okay to ask.

"I don't mind at all." The man's thin lips pulled into a slightly wider smile, so friendly and welcoming."My name's Yongguk."


	25. Chapter 25

"Alright, it's your turn to tell me your thoughts." Yongguk said as he and Yoongi left East Gate. He held a bag of fresh Chinese food in his hand.

Yoongi stuffed his hands into his pockets and looked down at the ground."I suppose so." He was really nervous about telling his thoughts to anyone, but Yongguk had already confided his own thoughts to Yoongi. So he needed to do the same in return. It was their deal.

"So what's on your mind, bud?" Yongguk was curious to hear what sort of problem Yoongi was struggling to handle.

"Well..." Yoongi scuffed his heel against the ground a couple times. He knew he shouldn't do that because it could tear up his shoes, but it was just something he did whenever he got nervous or embarrassed."Are you going to judge me?"

Yongguk nodded simply."We all judge each other, even if we don't mean to. It's natural. It's okay though. I'm not important in your life, so my opinion shouldn't matter to you."

That made Yoongi feel a little better."At least you're honest." He inhaled deeply then let it out through his nose to help himself relax a bit."Several months ago, I let a friend set me up on a blind date. I'm no good at dating, so I expected it to go badly."

"Did it?" Yongguk asked with curiosity, cocking his head a little to the side.

"No, not at all." Yoongi didn't know how to feel as he thought back on that first date."It was a little awkward, and I was foul-mouthed, but he was sweet."

"He?" Yongguk blinked a couple times with interest."You're gay?"

Yoongi shook his head."No. I'm pansexual. Gender doesn't matter to me." He pulled a hand out of his pocket to make a small, dismissive wave with it."Anyway, the date went so well that we ended up going out again. And again. We made it official."

"That's nice. So what's the problem?" It sounded like a nice thing to Yongguk, so he didn't see why Yoongi was having troublesome thoughts.

A heavy sigh slipped out from Yoongi."I keep growing more and more attached to him. I'm so fond of him, and I'm losing sight of what I could be without him. He's changed me, and I think I've become a better person. Calmer, I think. But am I still the person he met on that first date?" Yoongi felt so conflicted. He wanted to be a better person, but he still wanted to be the same person Hoseok met on their blind date.

"Well, that doesn't sound like a big problem." Yongguk smiled softly."This can be resolved if you just speak to him about the way you're feeling. Open communication is important in a stable relationship."

"But that's not all." Yoongi lifted his hand to rake his fingers through his hair."I, uh..." He had to say it. He had to get used to stating this feeling, right? It if was true, he needed to embrace it."I love him. He means the world to me. I've never met anyone else who understood me so well. And I..."

When Yoongi trailed off, Yongguk understood. He made a small hum."You don't know if he loves you in return. Am I right?" He glanced at Yoongi and saw him nod with a lowered gaze."Have you told him that you love him?"

"No." Yoongi felt like such a coward. He was so scared that Hoseok would reject his feelings."What if he doesn't love me? What if my love for him ruins our relationship? I don't want to lose him. I'd rather fall into a bottomless pit and never see the light of day again."

"I think you should discuss this with him and find out how he truly feels." Yongguk suggested."It seems to me that you're so caught up in your own feelings and thoughts that you've blinded yourself to his feelings. And maybe you're blind to the possibility of happiness."

"I don't know." Yoongi knew that he was blind to many things. A happy life was one thing he had thought he could never obtain before he met Hoseok."He is my happiness, my muse, my motivation. I'm scared of losing him."

Yongguk shifted the bag of food to his other hand then pat Yoongi's shoulder."Just talk to him. Whatever happens, you can get this off your chest. If he returns your love, that's a win. If he doesn't, well, maybe it's just not meant to be. Our hearts all need practice with love. We rarely get it right the first time. We break hearts. We get our own hearts broken. What's important is that we pick up the pieces and try again."

"But I don't know if I--" Yoongi stopped abruptly when his phone started to play a little tune. He pulled it out of his pocket and felt his heart flip."It's a text from him. What should I do?"

"Respond, of course. Talk to him." Yongguk thought Yoongi's expression of nervousness was adorable. It reminded him of someone from his past.

Yoongi read the text and felt a lump in his throat. Hoseok was asking him to visit."He, uh...He wants to talk about something."

"Go to him. Maybe he has been having the same thoughts as you." Yongguk really wanted to encourage Yoongi. He could tell he needed it.

"Yeah, okay. I hope you're right." Yoongi responded to the text, letting Hoseok know that he was on his way."Thanks for listening to me."

"Hey, no problem. You listened to me too. So thanks for that." Yongguk gave a small wave."Good luck."

A slight smile spread across Yoongi's lips."You too." He turned and headed in the direction of Hoseok's home. As he walked along the sidewalk, his mind was swarming with thoughts of what Hoseok might need to say. It had to be really important for Hoseok to ask him to visit so late. When he got there, Yoongi cleared his throat and knocked on the door. Waiting for a moment, he could tell Hoseok was the one who came to the door, based on how the handle was jingling, which implied he had a little trouble unlocking it. The door opened, revealing that Yoongi was right."Hey, Hoseok. Is everything okay?"

Hoseok didn't look happy at all. It was like the sun had burned out."Yoongi-hyung..."

"What is it?" Yoongi was worried. Something wasn't right."What's wrong?"


	26. Chapter 26

**Present**   
  


"He really said that? He wants to split up?" Jin was having a hard time digesting this information. Of course, he knew Yoongi was having a harder time.

Yoongi hugged his knees close to his chest and lowered his head. It had been so hard to tell Jin about that night. He wished it was just a bad dream, but it wasn't. It was real. He and Hoseok were no longer dating."He doesn't love me, Jin-hyung. He said he wants me to see other people."

"What about him?" Jin shifted a little on the sofa to move closer to Yoongi, lightly placing a hand onto his friend's shoulder."Is he going to date other people too?"

"I don't know. Probably." Yoongi moved a hand up to push Jin's off of his shoulder."Will you leave now? I want to be alone."

Letting out a sigh, Jin didn't want to leave. However, he wanted to respect Yoongi's feelings."Alright." He stood and couldn't stop his lips from forming a deep frown."Please try to go to work tomorrow. Everyone is worried about you. Don't shut yourself off from the world."

Yoongi rested his chin atop his knees and slumped his shoulders."I am making no promises, Hyung." He really didn't know if he was up for going to work tomorrow. Should he give it a try? If it didn't go well, he may just return home.

This was painful for Jin, and he knew it must be much more painful for Yoongi. He hated seeing Yoongi like this, so down and unhappy. Just a few days ago, he had been so happy and in love. Now that love was taken from him. It was like the sun was ripped from the sky and left his world in darkness."Well, I hope you know that I'll visit you again tomorrow afternoon if I find out you missed work again."

"Is that a threat?" Yoongi honestly liked the fact that Jin cared enough to visit and check on him. It was comforting to know that he had such a loyal friend.

"It's a promise." Jin gave Yoongi's head a gentle pat before making his way to the front door, pulling on his shoes and exiting.

As soon as he heard the front door close, Yoongi allowed his body to lean to the side until he collapsed into a curled up position on the sofa cushions."Hoseok..." he mumbled quietly.

\---

"Maybe Yoongi-hyung's heart is softer than a marshmallow." Jungkook suggested as he leaned against the counter. They were just getting everything set up as they wondered if Yoongi was going to show up today or not.

"Yeah, maybe." Jimin sighed and hung his head low."I just feel really bad about what I said to him when we argued. I was out of line."

Taehyung threw a piece of wadded paper at Jimin's back."Just make sure you apologize to him when he decides to show up again."

"Aish, I will." Jimin picked up the wadded paper and threw it back at Taehyung. Then, he turned to face Jin, who was seated at the table that was the closest to the counter."Jin-hyung, do you think Yoongi-hyung will come today?"

Jin hadn't told any of them about Yoongi's and Hoseok's break-up. It wasn't his place to tell them. However, he had told them that he'd asked Yoongi to come to work today. That was why he was here, waiting to see if Yoongi would show up."I really hope so."

"His poor marshmallow heart." Jungkook joked."Maybe it's becoming staler."

"Yoongi's heart isn't like a marshmallow." Jin cut in, stopping the joke right there."Yoongi's heart...It's like a candy jar."

"A candy jar?" Taehyung stepped around the counter and seated himself across from Jin."What do you mean?"

Jin wondered if they would understand."Whenever Yoongi gets close to someone, he'll open the jar and let them have so much sweetness. Whenever he isn't comfortable, he closes the lid tightly." he explained."But the candy isn't infinite. He needs to get sweetness back from others to refill the jar. For quite a while now, the lid has been off, giving out so much sweetness." His heart ached just by speaking about this."He started giving bigger portions of sweetness, but he wasn't getting enough back. Yoongi's heart needs to be refilled."

"We'll refill it." Jimin said with a slight raise of his hand."We can be sweet to Yoongi-hyung and help him feel better."

The too-familiar sound of the entrance door opening and closing, accompanied by the little ding that signified the arrival of a customer, caught their attention. However, it wasn't a customer who entered. It was Yoongi. He glanced at everyone, seeming to have no idea of what he should say to them. So he just made his way behind the counter and headed to get clocked in for work.

"Hyung." Jimin followed after Yoongi."Can I talk to you for a moment?"

Yoongi peeked at Jimin as he approached the punch clock."About what?" He really wasn't in the mood to talk. He didn't want to even see people. Yet, here he was. He was going to try.

"About our argument a few days ago." Jimin began to fidget with his fingers nervously. He wasn't used to arguing with Yoongi, so he also wasn't used to apologizing for it."I said some things that I shouldn't have. I was insensitive and an idiot. I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry." Yoongi gulped to keep down a lump in his throat."You weren't wrong."

Jimin cocked his head a little to the side."I wasn't wrong about what?"

After clocking in, Yoongi stuffed his hands into his pockets and lowered his gaze to the floor."About Hoseok. You were right." This couldn't be happening. Not now. Why were his eyes beginning to burn? Why was his vision getting blurry? He couldn't let this happen right now. Not at work."Hoseok doesn't love me, Jimin."

That hit Jimin like a ton of bricks. He had known, but he still hadn't wanted it to be true. He had hoped Yoongi and Hoseok would be able to work around that. He had been praying that Hoseok would start loving Yoongi as much as Yoongi loved him."Hyung, I'm so sorry."

"Just leave me alone. I..." Yoongi lifted a hand to rub his eyes."I need a moment. Please, Jimin."

"Okay, Hyung." Jimin really didn't want to leave Yoongi alone, but he didn't think there was anything he could do right now. Stepping out of the back room, Jimin made his way over to the others."Yoongi-hyung...needs a moment."

"Is he okay?" Taehyung asked with much concern.

When Jimin lightly shook his head, Jin quickly stood from his seat and made his way to the back room. This caused Jungkook to smile a little."Jin-hyung always takes care of Yoongi-hyung." He chuckled softly."He is like a protective dad."


	27. Chapter 27

"Jungkook, get off your phone and help us get cleaned up." Yoongi scolded."You don't get paid to text."

"Sorry, Hyung." Jungkook slipped his phone into his pocket and grabbed the broom he had left leaned against the wall nearby."Is it okay if Chaeyoung comes by while we're cleaning? She's on her way already."

Yoongi rolled his eyes as he was wiping off a table."If she's already on her way, what's the point in asking?" He grumbled quietly, not being in a good mood at all right now. He had been extra cranky all day."Just don't let her get in the way."

"Okay." Jungkook got busy with sweeping, glancing over to Taehyung and Jimin, who were both cleaning behind the counter.

Jimin was wiping off the counter with one hand, his other hand down below the counter to not be seen. He had his phone in his hand, sending out a text. He gave a subtle wink to Jungkook then peeked at Taehyung.

Taehyung gave Jimin a sneaky thumbs-up. They all knew Yoongi was going through a tough time, but they had a plan to make his day much better. Well, actually, this would just make his night better because it was getting rather late. Hence why they were cleaning up the place.

To everyone's knowledge, today was a special day, and they didn't want Yoongi to feel down for the entirety of it. Soon, their attention was grabbed when two people entered the building."Jeez, it's so quiet in here."

"They're working, Jackson. Of course it's quiet." Jin had been coming by to check on Yoongi quite often lately. He wanted to make sure his best friend was doing alright. To his dismay, Yoongi wasn't alright. He was hoping that their plans would make things at least a little better.

Yoongi lifted his gaze from the table he was cleaning just long enough to glance at Jin and Jackson. He huffed then returned his attention to the table. He didn't want to see Jin right now. As much as he normally enjoyed being around his best friend, he was tired of being asked if he was alright. He was tired of the sympathy. He was so sick of the concerned gazes.

Jackson stepped over to the counter and showed Jimin a black bag he was holding."Got the stuff." he said with a grin."This is going to be great."

Taehyung placed both of his hands onto the counter and leaned close to speak quietly to Jackson."Are things going well for you and Jin-hyung?" he asked curiously. He had never expected Jackson and Jin to start dating, so he wasn't really sure if he thought they were a good couple or not.

Jimin leaned in curiously too."Tell us. How's it going?"

"Well, things are a little awkward but okay." Jackson set his bag down onto the counter then rubbed the back of his neck."We go on dates, but it feels just like hanging out with a friend, nothing more."

"Maybe you two need to step it up." Jimin suggested.

Jackson shifted his gaze to the side, looking unsure."I don't think that's going to work."

"Why not?" Taehyung glanced over at Jin and saw him seat himself at one of the tables, eyeing Yoongi.

"I tried to take us to the next step, and it didn't work." Jackson felt quite embarrassed about this."On our last date, I asked to kiss him." He swiped his hand in front of his throat to make a slicing motion."Denied."

"Oh, bummer." Jimin turned his gaze to Jin, sighing softly."I wonder how Jin-hyung feels about it."

Taehyung rolled his eyes."Jimin, you're stupid."

Jackson watched with amusement as Jimin smacked Taehyung's arm, inquiring how he was stupid. It was easy for Jackson to see. He figured Taehyung had also noticed it. Maybe Jimin was the only one who didn't know. He had seen the way Jin would find chances to look at Jimin. It was obvious.

Jungkook stepped over to the table where Jin was sitting and lightly tapped his shoulder."Chaeyoung's on her way. She should be here any minute."

"Good. I really hope this puts Yoongi in a better mood." Jin was really worried about Yoongi. The crankiness was much worse than before, and he knew it was just a safety mechanism to keep himself from breaking down. Hell, maybe Yoongi was already broken. Jin couldn't tell if Yoongi could get through this."What if he never smiles again, Jungkook?"

"He will, Hyung." Jungkook wanted to believe that Yoongi was going to be okay. He couldn't even imagine how it must feel to go through such a devastating breakup.

Yoongi wanted to go home. He wanted to be alone. He didn't know why Jin and Jackson were here. He didn't know what was in Jackson's bag. He didn't know why Chaeyoung was coming. He didn't care. He just wanted to be left alone. He was out of luck though. A few minutes went by of Yoongi trying to ignore the fact that everyone was chatting. He was soon annoyed by the sound of someone coming inside, clearly Chaeyoung.

"Jungkook-oppa, I'm here." Chaeyoung said with such a cheery tone as she stepped over to Jungkook with a white box in her hands, holding it very carefully."Is it all ready?"

"It is now that you're here." Jungkook smiled fondly at his girlfriend and watched her set the white box down onto the table where Jin was sitting."Yoongi-hyung, can you come here please? It's important."

Yoongi sighed and slumped his shoulders. He tossed down the rag he had been using to wipe off a table. Peeling off his thin latex gloves, he tossed them down as well."What?" As he stepped over to the table, he noticed that everyone else was gathering as well. What was happening?

Jackson brought his bag over to the table and pulled out a pack of paper plates, as well as a pack of napkins."This is just for you, Yoongi-hyung. Relax."

Taehyung was full of anticipation, as was Jimin. They were both hoping that this would make Yoongi feel better, cheer him up. It should, right? Why wouldn't he want to be with friends like this? Taehyung reached into the back pocket of his pants and pulled out a small box of candles and a lighter.

Jin watched as Chaeyoung opened the white box to reveal a bunch of sweet-looking cupcakes. There was blue icing that spelled out three words."Happy birthday, Yoongi."

This was why everyone was gathering here? Yoongi stared at the cupcakes for a moment before glancing at each person who surrounded the table. This was sweet of them. However, Yoongi didn't know how to respond. He had been so wrapped up in his sad thoughts that he had forgotten about his own birthday.

Taehyung opened the box of candles and started sticking some into the cupcakes. After sticking in a fair amount, he grabbed the lighter and lit them. Once the candles were lit, he set down the lighter and eyed everyone."Ready?"

Yoongi wished he could drown out the sound as everyone started singing. The happy birthday song didn't sound cheery to him. It sounded like a shackle, like his friends were all trying to push happiness on to him. He appreciated it. Really, he did. He also just wished they would all shut up and leave.

"Blow out the candles, Hyung." Jimin said as he gave Yoongi's shoulder a pat."Make a wish."

Yoongi's gaze shifted around to each face, each set of eyes that was watching him. Then, he looked down at the cupcakes.  _A wish._  He only wanted one thing. He only had one wish.  _Hoseok..._  Leaning down, Yoongi blew out the candles, knowing his wish wasn't going to come true.

Everyone clapped as the candles were blown out. Then, Chaeyoung smiled sweetly."You get to take the first cupcake, Yoongi-oppa."

Not even giving any thought to it, Yoongi took the cupcake that contained the Y at the beginning of his name. Now that he had a cupcake, everyone else grabbed cupcakes as well. A few of them placed a couple cupcakes onto plates to refrain from making messes on the freshly-cleaned tables.

Taehyung gave Yoongi's arm a small nudge with his elbow."Happy birthday, Hyung."

"Thanks, I guess." Yoongi was still far from happy. Though, it was nice to know that his friends cared.


	28. Chapter 28

Hoseok didn't know what time it was. He didn't know long he had been in his room. He just couldn't bring himself to do anything. He did know that he was the only one home at the moment. The house was too quiet. Maybe he needed to get out. Maybe he needed to get his mind off of everything. Hoseok felt around his bed, searching for his phone. He had fallen asleep with it in his hand earlier and couldn't find it now. However, that was easy to fix."Hey, Google." His phone made that familiar ding.

Moving his hands toward the area of the ding, he found his phone within his blanket."What time is it?"

"The current time is 10:52 pm." that familiar Google voice answered.

Hoseok sighed. It was late, but he wasn't in the mood to sleep. He was bored and lonely. He needed company. While he just stayed here by himself, he couldn't stop thinking about Yoongi, wondering how he was doing and if he was hurting. Hoseok knew that he had been the provider of Yoongi's happiness. Now he was just the cause of his sadness.

What could Hoseok do? He needed a friend. He needed fun. He needed to dig himself out of this hole of sadness and hurt. This wasn't him. He was a ray of sunshine, right? Everyone's sunshine. He couldn't just let this ruin him. He had to shine. That was his role.

His burden.

"Hey, Google." Hoseok needed to reach out and speak to his best friend. He needed comfort and support from the one person who knew how much he struggled."Call Namjoon." The familiar ringing seemed to fill his ears, no other sound heard within the house.

It took several rings, but Namjoon finally answered the call."Hoseok, you okay?" Namjoon seemed to need to raise his voice a little, due to plenty of noise happening around him.

"Joon, are you busy? I need some company." Hoseok really hoped he wasn't interrupting anything.

"No, I'm not busy. I'll head back to the house and get you." Namjoon mumbled under his breath, something about needing to ditch someone.

Hoseok sighed and flopped backward to lay on his bed."If you're with someone, it's fine. We can hang later."

"No, no, don't worry about that." Namjoon didn't really sound all that bothered."I was making moves on a hot chick, but you're more important."

"Thanks, Namjoon." Hoseok knew he could trust Namjoon to listen to him. He knew Namjoon would always come to him whenever he needed him. Hoseok heard the call end and set his phone aside. He didn't know if he could easily say what he was feeling because he wasn't sure of how to put his feelings into words. His own feelings and thoughts confused him but made sense at the same time. It was strange and made him wish to be numb. Feeling nothing would be easier than this confusion.

\---

"You sure you're cool with this, Hoseok?" Namjoon asked as they entered the bar."I know you haven't been to a bar since before the accident."

True, Hoseok was nervous about being in a place full of drunken people, but he thought this was what he needed."Yeah, I'm fine. This'll be okay."

"Alright. If you're sure." Namjoon led Hoseok over to an empty table and pulled out a chair for him. He guided Hoseok into the chair then lightly pat his head."I'll get us some beers. Wait here."

"No worries. I'm not going to wander off." Hoseok placed his elbows onto the table and rested his chin on his hands.

After giving Hoseok's head one more small pat, Namjoon walked away. He hoped their time here would go smoothly. After all, it had been over a year since the last time they came to a bar together. The whole time Hoseok had been dating Yoongi, they hadn't really gotten many chances to go out together, and Yoongi had been completely against the idea of Hoseok getting drunk with Namjoon.

\---

A few beers was all it took for Hoseok to start feeling more relaxed and open. He started telling Namjoon stories about moments he had spent with Yoongi."Sometimes, we wouldn't even talk to each other." he told Namjoon."Yoongi-hyung would just turn on the TV and hold me. I liked that."

Namjoon had listened the every story, being less talkative while he was drinking. However, he still had some things to say occasionally."You miss that, don't you?"

"Yeah." Hoseok already missed Yoongi. It had been a week since the breakup, and he couldn't bring himself to contact Yoongi to see how he was doing. He couldn't talk to any of Yoongi's friends, afraid that they would be mad at him for hurting Yoongi.

"Were you happy with him?" Namjoon just wanted to know how Hoseok was feeling. He wanted to know what Hoseok needed and how he could help him.

Hoseok took a drink of his beer then wiped his mouth with his sleeve."Sometimes. Well, most of the time." He hung his head low as he thought about how he had felt with Yoongi."There were times when I felt...well...overwhelmed."

"Overwhelmed? Did he pressure you into doing things?" That would definitely not be okay with Namjoon. The way he viewed that, only he was allowed to pressure Hoseok into doing anything because they were best friends, and he only pressured him playfully.

"No, of course not." Hoseok set down his beer and moved his hands onto his lap."Yoongi-hyung was always quite a gentleman. It was never his fault that I felt pressured. He probably had no idea that I felt that way."

Setting his own beer down as well, Namjoon placed an elbow on the table."So then, why did you feel pressured?"

"You've said it yourself, Namjoon. I'm everyone's sunshine." Hoseok let out a heavy sigh."I always feel pressured to be happy and bright. Even while struggling with my blindness, I have to be cheerful and hopeful. That's what everyone expects from me." He lifted a hand to rake his fingers through his hair."Yoongi-hyung was not a happy person when we first met. He needed someone who was cheerful. I could be that for him. I made him happy, but...I couldn't keep up the facade. I kept thinking that he wouldn't want me anymore if he ever saw how unhappy I can be sometimes. I felt pressured to always be cheerful. He became just another person who expected me to be a ray of sunshine."

"Do you think that's what prevented you from loving him?" Namjoon was definitely not an expert on relationships, but this made sense to him, even in his buzzed state."Do you think you could love him if he accepted your unhappy side?"

Hoseok shrugged his shoulders."I don't know. I've always been afraid to show that side to anyone other than you. Everyone is so used to seeing me as a cheerful person, full of hope. How would they react to seeing their sunshine turn into a rain cloud?"


	29. Chapter 29

_"Chug! Chug! Chug! Chug!"_

Those chants and cheers from last night rang through Yoongi's pounding head. What happened last night? He couldn't really remember much. He remembered going to a bar with Jin, Jimin, and Jackson, but he had no idea how he had gotten home. Wait a minute. Yoongi noticed something different about his sofa. It was longer than before.

This wasn't his sofa.

Where was he?

Opening his eyes, Yoongi strained to see. Just the act of opening his eyes caused him to have the most awful migraine he had ever experienced. From what he could see through his squinted eyes, this wasn't Jin's house. It wasn't Jimin's either. Was it Jackson's house? He had no idea. This place was nice though.

Being in an unfamiliar environment after a night of drinking, Yoongi checked the most important details. Reaching his hands down, he felt himself. Yup, still dressed. Next, he checked his pockets. His phone, wallet, and keys were still there.

"Oh, you're awake." That was a woman's voice.

Yoongi lifted his head from where it had been resting on the armrest on the soft couch and saw a tall woman standing in the doorway to the room. She looked oddly familiar, but Yoongi didn't know what it was about her that seemed familiar to him."Who are you..?" he asked with such a husky, sleepy tone."Where am I..?"

The woman stepped over to the couch and showed Yoongi that she was holding a glass of water and a bottle of pills."First off, here's some water and painkillers. I can imagine that your head must be throbbing terribly." When Yoongi sat up and took the water and painkillers, she smiled softly."My name is Natasha. I was at the bar last night and saw you getting totally wasted. You needed help getting home, and your friends were nowhere to be found." She watched Yoongi eye the pill bottle and chuckled."Don't worry. It's a new bottle. You don't have to worry about me putting anything weird in it."

Yoongi popped off the lid to the pill bottle and found that the safety seal was still intact."So you brought me to your place..?" He tore off the safety seal and took out a couple pills. After putting the lid back onto the pill bottle, he used the water to swallow the painkillers.

"You were too wasted to give me your address, so I didn't know where else to take you." Natasha shrugged her shoulders just a little."I suppose I could have looked through your phone or wallet to find your address, but that wouldn't be very good, now would it?"

"I guess not..." Yoongi drank some more of the water then set the glass down onto the low coffee table in front of the couch."What time is it..?" He ran his fingers through his hair and knew he was a complete mess right now.

Natasha turned her gaze to look at a clock that was hanging on the wall."It's a little after noon. Do you need to be somewhere?"

"Just home..." Yoongi wouldn't have gone to the bar if he needed to do anything today.

"Would you like a ride?" Natasha squatted down in front of Yoongi to get a better look at him."Man, don't even answer that. You look like shit. I'll give you a ride." She gave his knee a small pat."I'm going to grab my keys. Your shoes are by the front door, which is straight down the hall."

Yoongi got a better look at Natasha while she was this close.  _Damn._ That was the first word that went through his mind now that he could see her more clearly. She was attractive and also had a sort of badass aura. Covering much of her skin that wasn't hidden by her clothes were tattoos, many of them. Watching Natasha leave the room, Yoongi got up from the couch. The painkillers were already starting to relieve his headache just a little. Glancing around, Yoongi made his way out of the room and down the hall. He got to the front door and put on his shoes.

Natasha soon went to the front door as well."Let's get you home, uh...Sorry, I don't know your name."

"It's Yoongi." Rubbing his face a little with one hand, Yoongi really tried to stop looking like shit, but it was something he just couldn't control right now.

"Well, it's nice to meet you, Yoongi. Let's get going." After putting on a pair of sunglasses, Natasha opened the front door and stepped outside. She waited for Yoongi to exit then locked the door. She led him to her car and unlocked the doors."You can just type your address into my GPS."

"Okay." Yoongi got into the passenger seat and fastened his seatbelt. Once Natasha started the car, he tapped her GPS to select the option to enter his address. After typing in his address, he let his gaze wander."Nice car."

Natasha chuckled lightly. She could tell Yoongi wasn't too good at starting conversations, but she appreciated that he made an attempt."Thanks. It was a gift."

"A gift?" Yoongi looked at Natasha with disbelief."Who the fuck gives away a nice car as a gift?"

That reaction just made Natasha grin."My little brother." She reached a hand up to show Yoongi a small keychain that was dangling on a black string from the rearview mirror. Inside the keychain was a photo of Natasha and her brother."He's a sweetheart."

Looking at the photo, Yoongi now knew why Natasha looked so oddly familiar. He didn't know her. He had met her brother before though. They looked a lot alike."Yongguk is your brother?"

"You know Yongguk?" Natasha started driving away from her house to take Yoongi home."Judging by your size and appearance, I'd say that Yongguk is probably older than you. I'm definitely older than you."

Yoongi gave a tiny bow of his head."In that case, I'm grateful for your help, Noona."

"Anytime, bud." It was pretty quiet for the rest of the drive. Natasha was focused on listening to the GPS as Yoongi seemed to just glance around a lot.

When they reached his house, Yoongi unbuckled his seatbelt."Thanks again for the ride."

"No problem." Natasha reached over to open the glovebox and pulled out a small card, giving it to Yoongi."Take this. It's got my number on it. Give me a call, and we'll go out sometime."

Eyeing the card, Yoongi was unsure."Uh, well..."

"No worries. Just as friends." Natasha could see the uncertainty and hoped Yoongi would give her a chance to be his friend. It was always nice to make new friends.

"Oh, sure." Maybe it would be okay for Yoongi to go out with Natasha sometime. A new friend might be what he needed. Getting out of the car, he gave Natasha a small wave then headed into his house.


	30. Chapter 30

"Yoongi, we need to talk." Jimin said with a really uneasy expression as he stood beside Yoongi, who was trying to enjoy his simple lunch, salad and water.

"You're damn right we need to talk." Yoongi had been in a foul mood ever since he got home yesterday, being dropped off by his new friend."You, Jackson, and Jin-hyung fucking abandoned me at the bar. Not cool, man."

Jimin seated himself at the table across from Yoongi and placed his hands on the tabletop."That's what we need to talk about. I don't remember much of what happened. I think I drank too much, and Jackson-hyung was mad at us--"

"Why was Jackson mad?" Yoongi set down the plastic fork he had been using to eat his salad.

"I'm getting to that." Jimin lowered his voice, not wanting anyone else to hear what he was about to say."Yoongi-hyung, I messed up big time. I don't even know who messed up more, me or Jin-hyung, but..." He ran a hand over his hair as a heavy sigh slipped out."I woke up in Jin-hyung's house. Like, in his bed."

Yoongi didn't know what to think of this. Would this count as a win for Jin? Or was this a huge problem? Probably a huge problem."Did you two...?"

Jimin nodded, his cheeks getting a hint of pink in them."Without a doubt. We were in his bed, both nude; my ass was hurting. We definitely did."

"Well, shit. What did Jin-hyung say about it?" This was a new situation for Yoongi. He had never needed to deal with someone having drunken sex with his best friend before.

This was what had Jimin stumped. He didn't know how to handle this."Uh, well, that's where I messed up more, Yoongi-hyung." He was actually ashamed of this poor decision."I left before he woke up."

Trying to process what was being told to him, Yoongi moved both hands up to rub his temples."So let me get this straight. Jackson is mad because you left the bar with his boyfriend. You slept with Jin-hyung. Then, you left in the morning before he woke up."

"Yeah. So what should I do, Hyung?" Jimin really needed advice. He had never done something like that before.

"Well, Jimin, what you need to do," Yoongi leaned forward to be closer to Jimin before continuing,"is figure this out on your own." He pulled back and lightly chuckled as he saw Jimin's mouth agape."Oh, don't give me that look. You can't expect me to help you with this. You had drunken sex with my best friend. I'm not going to help you."

With a huff, Jimin leaned back in his seat."Fine. I don't need your help." He watched Yoongi resume eating what was left of his salad."So how did you get home anyway? None of us were there to take you."

Yoongi held up his index finger to tell Jimin to wait as he was chewing a mouthful of his salad. Once he swallowed, he took a drink from his cup of water."Well, I don't remember that night, but I woke up the next day in an older woman's house."

"No way. Really?" Jimin's eyes widened, as he had clearly jumped to a wrong assumption."You slept with an older woman?"

"What? No." Yoongi made a wave with his hand to dismiss Jimin's ridiculous assumption."I woke up on her couch; I was still fully dressed, mind you." He set down his plastic fork again and gave up on finishing his salad."She was really nice, totally cool too. She gave me her number, and I think I'll call her after work."

That was definitely shocking for Jimin to hear."Wait a minute." He needed to understand this."Yoongi-hyung, are you moving on with that woman?"

The thought would be nice, but Yoongi didn't think it was possible."No." A weak smile spread across his lips."I don't think I can move on. She's just a friend, and she'll stay that way. I don't want to move on."

"But don't you think it would be nice? You could be happy again." Jimin would really love to see Yoongi be happy again."Don't you want to be happy?"

To that, Yoongi shook his head just a little."I think it's too soon for that, Jimin. I can't possibly be happy with someone else while my heart is still tied to Hoseok. He was my happiness. When he left--"

"He took all your candy." Jimin placed an elbow on the table and rested his chin onto his palm.

"The fuck are you talking about?" That certainly confused Yoongi."What candy?"

"Uh, nothing. Forget it." Jimin sighed softly and turned his gaze to the side, staring out a window."I wonder what the big plan is?"

"What plan?" Yoongi raked his fingers through his hair."Jimin, you're not making any sense."

"It's nothing, Hyung." Jimin pulled his attention away from the window and stood."I'm heading back to the line. You should come back too. I know we've got barely any business right now, but I don't want you to just sit here and sulk."

Yoongi rolled his eyes and stood as well."Fine, whatever." He knew Jimin was just trying to look out for him, but Yoongi didn't think he needed anyone to look out for him. As he walked away from the table with his trash in hand, he shifted his gaze to the side."Hey, Jimin..."

"Yeah, Hyung?" Jimin knew Yoongi was pretty sulky for a good reason, but he wished he would at least try to cheer up a little. He knew it wouldn't be easy, but he and the others were all ready to help Yoongi if he needed them.

"Just, uh...Thanks." This was embarrassing for Yoongi, but he wanted to say it."Thanks for, well...being here for me. Friends are what I need right now."

Bringing a smile to his lips, Jimin hooked an arm around Yoongi's shoulders."Aw, no need to thank me, Hyung. You've got friends to help you, even though you're such a Mr. Frowny Face. We'll help you turn that frown upside-down."

"Jimin, I'm only going to say this once because I almost respect you." Yoongi's tone held a warning in it."If you keep talking like that, I will kick you."

That only made Jimin laugh."Sure you will."


	31. Chapter 31

"So I'm going to be completely honest with you." Yoongi rested his hands on his lap and fidgeted with his fingers nervously beneath the table."I suck at making new friends. I'm just not good with people."

Natasha smiled sweetly as she used the tip of her index finger to scoop a small bit of whipped cream from the top of her frappuccino."I can tell, but there's nothing wrong with that." She glanced toward the counter before returning his gaze to Yoongi."I assume that's why you wanted to come here. You feel more comfortable when you have a friend nearby. Am I right?"

"Yeah." Yoongi glanced toward the counter as well, spotting Jin as he was taking a customer's order."Jin-hyung makes me feel safe. He's like a security blanket but a person."

"That's the great thing about close friends." Natasha ate the bit of whipped cream from her fingertip then took a small drink of her frappuccino."Can I ask you about that night at the bar?"

Yoongi shifted his gaze around a little before looking at his coffee, lightly poking the side of his cup."I don't really remember much about it." he stated honestly.

Making a small wave with her hand to dismiss that little fact, Natasha wasn't interested in Yoongi's memory of the boozy night."I don't need to know about what happened during the night before I took you to my place. I'm just wondering..." She knew this was nosy of her, so she wouldn't be offended if Yoongi chose not to answer."What was your reason for drinking so much? You clearly don't do that often. It's obvious."

Just thinking about his reason for drinking made Yoongi wish he could just curl up on his bed right now and never greet the world again. He was still torn up about it. There was no telling when he would get over it."I, uh..."

"You don't have to tell me." Natasha could see that this was very hard for Yoongi, so she didn't want him to feel obligated to tell her.

Yoongi slightly shook his head. He knew he needed to get used to this. He needed to come to terms with being single again. He needed to accept that he had been dumped."I, uh, was dumped."

"But why? You seem like such a sweet guy." Natasha couldn't see a reason for anyone to not want to be with Yoongi. He was honest, caring, sweet, and cute.

"I don't know." This was probably what killed Yoongi the most about it. He hadn't been given a reason. It was just over. So he was left to speculate and wonder what he had done wrong."It must be my fault somehow. I must have done something wrong or said something offensive without realizing it."

Reaching across the table, Natasha lightly touched Yoongi's wrist."Hey, don't think like that. Maybe it wasn't your fault. Don't be so hard on yourself."

"It had to be my fault." Yoongi just couldn't believe that it wasn't his fault."There's no way it was his fault. He's so sweet, but maybe I made him feel like he couldn't be open with me."

"What do you mean?" Natasha wished there was some way she could show Yoongi that the break-up couldn't possibly be only his fault.

Lifting his hand to run his fingers through his hair, Yoongi sighed."There was something wrong. I don't know what was wrong, but I could see it. He kept showing small signs of being unhappy, but every time I asked him if something was wrong, he would always deny it. There must be something wrong with me. Something about me caused him to not trust me enough to tell me what was wrong."

"Maybe it was something he needed to work through on his own." As Yoongi's mood seemed to be sinking, Natasha had caught glimpses of Jin peering at them with worry. It was so cute how Yoongi's best friend was so concerned for him. She gave Jin a small wave to let him know that she would handle Yoongi.

"But I love him." Yoongi didn't know what to do. He didn't know what he could have done differently to save his relationship with Hoseok."I would do anything for him."

A small smile spread itself across Natasha's lips."Maybe you should talk to him."

"What?" Yoongi quickly shook his head."I can't do that. He dumped me. He probably doesn't want to talk to me."

"Then, just text him." Natasha suggested."Just a simple text. Tell him that you love him and that you'll be an open ear if he ever wants to talk."

That seemed a lot harder for Yoongi than Natasha was making it sound. How could he possibly send a text to the man who dumped him? How could he state his love to Hoseok now that they weren't together anymore?"I really don't think I can do that."

Natasha wagged her index finger at Yoongi."Tsk, tsk. Didn't you just say that you would do anything for him?" She was aware that this would be hard, but she was also sure that it would help."If you would truly do anything for him, consider being an open ear and willing support for him. Put your hurt feelings aside and focus on his feelings for a bit."

That really hit Yoongi. He did need to give more thought to Hoseok's feelings. He needed to stop wallowing in his self-pity and consider what Hoseok might be feeling."I'll try."

"You'll try?" Natasha perked an eyebrow at Yoongi before taking a drink of her frappuccino.

"Fuck. I'll do it, Noona." Yoongi didn't really know if he could. It was going to be hard. Could he really just send a text to Hoseok? He would try to send it once he would get home later. But what should he say?

"Good." Natasha hoped Yoongi wouldn't chicken out. He needed to show that he would accept Hoseok's problems, and maybe that would help them start talking to each other again. At the very least, it could help Yoongi learn why he was dumped. If it truly was his fault, he could learn what he was doing wrong and try to fix it.


	32. Chapter 32

Yoongi's gaze kept flicking back and forth between his phone and Jimin, who had fallen asleep during his lunch break. Jimin had his face buried into his arms, which were folded on the table. Yoongi was seated across from him, trying to form a text and failing. He was trying to follow Natasha's advice. He needed to stick to his word and send a text to Hoseok.

_But what should I say?_

This was so difficult for Yoongi. It wasn't a case of not knowing what to say. It was a case of having too much to say and not knowing which parts should be left out. Some things just shouldn't be said through text. It would suck the meaning out of those words.

_Hoseokie...No. Hoseok._

Should he be casual? Should he talk to Hoseok the same way he had spoken to him while they had been together?

_How are you doing? No. That makes it sound too formal._

Wording was very important. At least, it was to Yoongi. He was in a state of typing and deleting, unable to figure out what to actually send.

_I miss you. Please talk to me._

Well, that was definitely deleted. Yoongi didn't want to sound too desperate, despite how desperate he really was to hear Hoseok's voice and see his handsome face.

_Fuck. What am I even doing?_

Yoongi lifted a hand and scratched his head with mild frustration. He was so annoyed with himself. Why couldn't he think of the best words to say? Nothing seemed good enough.

_Hoseok, can we talk?_

Was that a good enough beginning? It was simple and got straight to the point.

_I don't know what went wrong between us, but I would like to know. I want to understand. Please talk to me and give me a chance to make things right. Even if things might not be fixed, we can at least try. If this is my fault, please tell me so I can do better._

That seemed good to Yoongi, but he didn't know if he had enough courage to send it. Could he just send it like this? Should he wait a little longer? His thumb hovered over the send button. He didn't know if he could make himself press it.

"I deleted it..!" Jimin suddenly spoke loudly, jerking upward from his sleeping position.

That made Yoongi jump, startling him."Damn it, Jimin. What the fuck are you yelling about?"

Jimin looked at Yoongi with wide eyes before seeming to realize that he was now awake and still at work. He calmed down and slouched a bit in his seat."Nothing, Hyung. It was just a dream."

"You startled the shit out of me, you cunt." Yoongi didn't know if his heart could take the strain of being startled right now. It was already pounding so fast with the thought of texting Hoseok.

"Sorry." Jimin lifted a hand and raked his fingers through his hair."What were you doing? Texting someone?" he asked as he pointed simply toward his manager's phone.

"Yeah, I was trying to think of what to te..." Yoongi's voice trailed off as he looked down at his phone."Jimin, you idiot!"

Jimin straightened himself up."What did I do?"

Yoongi felt a rush of panic course through him."When you startled me, I accidentally hit the send button! Fuck! What if that text sounds stupid?!"

"Who were you texting?" Jimin had only a couple guesses.

"Who do you think I was texting?! Hoseok!" Yoongi didn't know what to do now. Was there anything he  _could_ do?

"Oh." Jimin didn't know whether he should feel relieved that Yoongi had now contacted Hoseok or if he should feel sorry for being the cause of the contact being by accident. Maybe he should just stick with being relieved."Hey, if this didn't happen, you might have never sent it."

"But..." Yoongi set his phone down onto the table and held his head in his hands."I think I'm going to have a heart attack..."

Jimin sighed and smiled softly."It's going to be okay, Yoongi-hyung. You're not going to have a heart attack. You just need to calm down."

"How am I supposed to calm down? I just accidentally texted the man who dumped me." Yoongi didn't know what to do. His mind was getting fuzzy. He was breathing too heavily.

"Yoongi-hyung?" This was starting to look bad to Jimin. He could see that something was wrong."Tae! Kook!" He needed help. He didn't know what to do to help Yoongi calm down.

Jungkook and Taehyung came out from behind the counter and hurried over."What's wrong?" Jungkook asked, not knowing what was going on.

Taehyung immediately recognized Yoongi's condition though."Hyung's having a panic attack!" He swiftly moved beside Yoongi and placed a hand on his shoulder."Turn this way, Hyung. You can do it."

With Taehyung's help, Yoongi turned to face him. He allowed Taehyung to guide him, lowering his head down near his knees and trying to focus on his breathing. This was something that didn't happen often, but Yoongi was thankful that he wasn't alone right now.

"Jimin, Jungkook, make sure customers don't freak out." Taehyung instructed. Once the other two stepped away to assure staring customers that everything was okay, he returned his full attention to Yoongi."You're okay, Hyung. Just think of a feather. Close your eyes and imagine the feather in your mind." As Taehyung spoke, he soothingly ran his fingers through Yoongi's hair to help him relax."Let your breaths keep the feather afloat. Keep the feather steady. You can do it."

Yoongi closed his eyes and imagined the feather. He tried to focus on keeping the feather floating in his mind. His breaths controlled the feather."Tae..."

"You're doing fine, Hyung." Taehyung had only witnessed Yoongi have a panic attack once before, but he had seen how Jin handled Yoongi during that time. Now it was his turn to comfort and support Yoongi."You're okay."

It took a few more minutes, but Yoongi was able to relax his breathing. His heart was still pounding a bit, and his hands were shaking, but the panic attack was over."Thanks...Tae..."

Taehyung gently brushed some hair away from Yoongi's face and flashed a caring smile."No need to thank me, Hyung. Are you feeling better? Do you need to go home?"

Yoongi shook his head just a little."I'm fine...I'll stay..."

"Alright. Just let me know if you feel the need to go home. I'll walk with you." Taehyung gave Yoongi's head a light pat, hoping his hyung would be okay for the rest of their shift.


	33. Chapter 33

Namjoon had to stop and ask himself a very important question."What the hell am I thinking?" Just looking at the number in his phone took him down memory lane. All the feelings he had buried came rushing back as he stared at those digits. What should he do?"I should delete it." he told himself. Tapping the number, he selected the edit option and hovered his thumb over the option to delete the number.

Could he do it? Could Namjoon delete this number after having it in his phone for so long? With a sigh, Namjoon moved his thumb away from the option."Should I call first? Just one last time?" This was such a tough decision for him. Delete the number or call first? He had called so many times before but always hung up after just one ring, afraid to hear the voice on the other side.

Shifting his attention away from the phone in his hand for a moment, Namjoon listened closely to make sure Hoseok wasn't coming to his room for any reason. He could hear Hoseok wandering around a bit, but he didn't seem to be coming in the direction of his room. After a few seconds, Namjoon returned his attention to his phone. Mustering up all of his courage, he tapped the call option and moved the phone to his ear.

Namjoon's heart thumped as he listened to the ringing.  _I'm not hanging up this time._  He told himself. One last call at least deserved an exchange of words, right?  _I can do this._  However, that courage fell flat when the call was answered.

"Hello?"

That voice. It slithered into Namjoon's ear and pressed a panic switch in his brain."U-uh, sorry! Wrong number!" he lied.

There was a low chuckle."Okay, Namjoon."

Quickly ending the call, Namjoon dropped his phone onto his bed and covered his face with his hands."He still has my number...He knew it was me...How embarrassing..." He rubbed his face a bit before grabbing his phone again and staring at the contact info. More specifically, he stared at the name on that contact. Yongguk.

Seeing everything that was going on between Hoseok and Yoongi, Namjoon realized that he needed to get over his own issues. He didn't really understand Hoseok's side of the situation, but he understood Yoongi's side, somewhat. Just as he knew Hoseok and Yoongi really needed to talk about their situation and sort through the problem together, maybe he needed to talk to Yongguk in order to move on.

Thinking about this, Namjoon took a deep breath and called the number again. As it rang, Namjoon's mind was panicking. What should he say to Yongguk? What if Yongguk didn't want to talk to him? His swarming thoughts were interrupted by the call soon being answered.

"Namjoon, is everything okay?" came Yongguk's deep voice.

"Well...I..." Namjoon didn't know what to say. The confidence he normally showed to other people completely vanished with Yongguk. He couldn't do it.

"Namjoon?" Yongguk sounded concerned."You don't normally give me a chance to answer the call, but now you've called me twice in a row. What's wrong?"

Swallowing a lump in his throat, Namjoon forced himself to talk."We need to talk...Can you, um..."

Though he wasn't getting many words, Yongguk understood."Yeah, I'll head to your place shortly."

Just like that, the call was ended. Now what was Namjoon supposed to do? Just sit around and wait? Should he ask Hoseok for advice? No, that would be stupid. How could Hoseok help him if he was going through such a similar situation? Though, Namjoon supposed it would be a good idea to at least let Hoseok know that he had company coming over. What was Hoseok even doing right now?

Standing up from his bed, Namjoon stepped over to his bedroom door, opened it, and poked his head out."Hoseok!" he called.

"Eh?!"

Hearing Hoseok's response come from the direction of the living room, Namjoon made his way down the hall. Stepping into the living room, he found Hoseok sticking his hands between the couch cushions."What are you doing?"

Hoseok let out a sigh of frustration."I left my phone in here when I went to the kitchen for a drink. On my way back, I heard my notification sound, but I can't find my phone. I think it fell between the cushions."

"Ah." Namjoon stepped over and lightly tapped Hoseok's shoulder."Let me find it." He knew it must suck to be feeling around between the cushions, instead of just being able to look. When Hoseok moved aside, Namjoon started searching between the cushions. He heard Hoseok's notification sound and knew the right area to search, but he was still having a little difficulty finding the phone."I swear, couches must have pocket dimensions between their cushions."

"Please find it, Namjoon. It's really important." Hoseok was really anxious for the notification. He felt like he absolutely needed it, and he wouldn't be able to do anything else until he could hear it.

"I'm searching, Seokie. Chill." Namjoon perked an eyebrow and pulled a sock out from between the cushions."Oh, gross." This sock definitely needed to go in the trash."Crusty. Oops." Namjoon recognized the sock as his own and the 'contents' as definitely his own as well.

Hoseok loosely wrapped his arms around himself as he waited."It's a text, Namjoon. I really need to know what it says. It's...It's from Yoongi-hyung."

Namjoon paused and looked at Hoseok."It said it's from Yoongi-hyung?" When Hoseok nodded, he felt even more determined to find the phone. This also made Namjoon glad that he had set up the Google Speech on Hoseok's phone, so it would always tell Hoseok who was calling or texting him. Searching between the cushions again, it only took a few more minutes to find Hoseok's phone."Found it." He held out the phone and lightly tapped Hoseok's wrist with it to let him know where it was.

Unwrapping his arms from around himself, Hoseok grabbed his phone from Namjoon."I'm going to my room to listen to it."

"Okay." When Hoseok turned to leave the living room, Namjoon spoke up again."Oh, Seok, I have someone coming over, and I need to speak to him alone, so would you mind staying out of the living room for a while?"

"Who's coming over?" Hoseok asked curiously, holding his phone with both hands close to his chest, scared to lose it again before he could hear the text.

Lifting a hand, Namjoon nervously rubbed the back of his neck."Yongguk."

"Yongguk?" That name sounded familiar. It took Hoseok a few seconds to remember who that was."Oh, your ex. Okay, I'll let you two have some time alone. I'll just stay in my room and listen to an ebook or something."

"Thanks, Seokie."


	34. Chapter 34

_Hoseok, can we talk? I don't know what went wrong between us, but I would like to know. I want to understand. Please talk to me and give me a chance to make things right. Even if things might not be fixed, we can at least try. If this is my fault, please tell me so I can do better._

 

That text ran through Hoseok's mind over and over again. He couldn't get it out of his head. He wished he could hear those words in Yoongi's voice. He wanted to hear Yoongi. No matter what words might be said, Hoseok just wanted to hear his voice. He missed him so much. But he couldn't speak to Yoongi yet. How could he explain what was wrong if he still needed to figure it out? He just couldn't do it.

Pulling his feet up onto his bed, Hoseok wrapped his arms around his knees.  _I know I'm hurting him._  he thought to himself. _I know this is damaging his feelings._ He let out a heavy sigh. _But what about my feelings?_ Hoseok still needed to figure out his own feelings. He didn't fully know how he felt about Yoongi. How could he be with someone who truly loved him if he didn't truly love them in return? Wouldn't that mean he was just taking advantage of Yoongi's love? Would he just be using Yoongi's feelings?

"I don't want to use him..." Hoseok mumbled quietly to himself. Hoseok kept thinking about how things had been with Yoongi. He never showed his true feelings. He never showed that he was unhappy sometimes. He didn't want Yoongi to see his insecurities because he thought Yoongi would be pushed away by them. After all, on their initial blind date, the first thing Yoongi had mentioned about Hoseok's appearance was his smile. Hoseok wanted to keep that smile for Yoongi.

Yoongi liked his smile. How could he even think of taking that away? If Yoongi liked his smile so much, why would he ever allow himself to frown around him? He just couldn't do it.  _Yoongi-hyung fell in love with my sunshine persona. But what if he saw the rain clouds?_ Hoseok felt like Yoongi expected him to smile because that was what he had always done around him. Nothing but smile.

 _What if I cried around him? What if I got mad? Would he accept those feelings?_  Hoseok didn't know. He had experienced it before when people distanced themselves from him because he revealed that he wasn't a hundred percent sunshine. Many people didn't want the burden of another person's negative feelings.

After being let down multiple times before, how could Hoseok even attempt to hope for Yoongi to accept him whenever he wasn't a happy sunshine? He was so used to covering up his negative feelings and only showing happiness, even false happiness. It was scary to think of how Yoongi might react to seeing Hoseok as anything other than happy. Hoseok didn't know if he could gather the courage to shed his facade of being a sunshine and face Yoongi as a gloomy cloud instead.

Hoseok knew Yoongi loved him, but was that love strong enough to accept him for being different than what he pretended to be? He didn't know, and he was afraid to find out.

\---

Why was this so hard? Why couldn't Namjoon keep his thoughts straight? Here he was, sitting on the couch with Yongguk seated beside him. His gaze kept flicking over to the gold band on Yongguk's left ring finger. That was what he thought it was, right? When did that happen?"You're married?" The words escaped from Namjoon's mouth before he could stop them."Nevermind. I shouldn't be asking abo--"

"Yes, I am." Yongguk calmly interrupted Namjoon to keep him from rambling. He knew the younger man was nervous and probably having a million thoughts running through his mind.

"Then, why did you come here?" Namjoon didn't understand."Why are you here with me if you're married?"

Yongguk let out a soft sigh then moved his hand over to place it comfortingly on Namjoon's knee."Namjoon, I still care about you. It's just not in the way you want me to."

Namjoon didn't know what kind of answer he expected. He just didn't know what was going on in Yongguk's life anymore. He didn't know how Yongguk managed to move on. He supposed it was easier for him."You really didn't love me, huh?"

"I'm sorry, Namjoon." Yongguk knew that he had been wrong to not leave Namjoon sooner than he had. He had truly hoped to be able to return Namjoon's feelings."I wanted things to work out for us. I'm sorry it didn't work."

"Why did you stay with me if you didn't love me?" Namjoon just wanted to be told. He needed to hear Yongguk say it.

A sad smile played on Yongguk's lips as he thought about that time."I really did like you, Namjoon. I wanted to be with you. It wasn't fair to you though. You loved me, but all I could give back was a strong like. I tried to love you. I really did."

"But you couldn't?" Namjoon had thought this was the case, but he wanted to hear Yongguk say it.

"Namjoon." Yongguk shifted a little to face Namjoon better."Love is a tricky thing. It never works the way we want it or expect it. I wanted to love you. I couldn't though. Love can't be forced, but I tried."

Lowering his gaze, Namjoon slumped his shoulders."So you just moved on?"

"It's not as easy you may think it was." Yongguk thought about that time when he had left Namjoon and tried to move on."Even though I didn't love you, I still cared about you a lot. I felt awful for leaving you, so it was difficult for me to move on. Still, I managed to do so. I found a woman I love, who loves me in return."

"But what should I do?" This was Namjoon's main reason for asking Yongguk to come over. He needed guidance. He needed advice.

Yongguk's small smile softened a bit, as did his already-gentle expression."You should get back out there. Try to find someone new, someone you can seriously date and hopefully be happy with."

"Do I have to?" Namjoon was worried about being hurt again. He didn't want to repeat the past.

"No, of course not." Yongguk moved his hand up to lightly pat Namjoon's shoulder."But it would be good for you to try again. I'd hate to see you give up just because we didn't work out."

With a soft sigh, Namjoon figured Yongguk was right."I'll try."

"Good." Retracting his hand, Yongguk had an idea."Call me when you get a new significant other. We will all go out together."

"We?" This made Namjoon nervous.

Yongguk chuckled lightly."Yes, we. You and your significant other. My wife and me. We'll have a double date and enjoy each other's company. It'll be fun."

Being nervous, Namjoon didn't want to agree right away."I'll give it some thought."

"No pressure." A warm smile spread across Yongguk's lips."I just want you to be happy."


	35. Chapter 35

_"You feeling okay, Hyung?"_

Yoongi had lost count of how many times he heard that question over the past few days. And he stuck to his typical answers.

_"I'm fine, Jimin."_

_"Don't worry, Jungkook."_

But there was something that was more comforting to Yoongi than the question of concern.

"Yoongi-hyung, I'm finished with the ordering." Taehyung said as he stepped up to the counter to stand beside Yoongi. He lightly placed a hand on the manager's shoulder.

Yoongi could feel the concern in Taehyung's small contact. There was something about Taehyung that made him think of Jin. It was comforting and familiar."Did you return the pad to its charger?"

"Yup." Taehyung smiled widely. He understood that Yoongi didn't want to talk about how he was feeling. He knew it must be very unnerving to accidentally send a text to an ex. He could only imagine how embarrassed he would feel if he ever sent a text by accident to his crush, let alone an ex. Lifting his hand away from Yoongi's shoulder, Taehyung gave the shorter man's head a gentle pat before walking away.

Normally, it would annoy Yoongi if anyone patted his head. However, Taehyung could get away with it. Yoongi just couldn't bring himself to be annoyed with him. Despite Taehyung's usually goofy and irresponsible personality, Yoongi had noticed his more mature side, which he liked. It made him feel safe. He recognized this feeling. He wanted to cling to it, but he didn't want to cling too much.

Yoongi was soon pulled out of his thoughts by the feel of a vibration in his pocket. Was it a text? He wanted to check it, but he knew he shouldn't. He always told the others not to have their phones out during work. He had to be a good example for them. After all, rules meant nothing if they weren't followed by everyone. It wouldn't be fair at all if he told them to put their phones away then pulled out his own phone.

 _What if it's from Hoseok?_  That thought really struck Yoongi's mind hard. This was killing him inside. He was torn between being a good manager and giving in to the urge to check the text.

"Are you alright, Hyung?" Jungkook asked from behind the manager."You're all stiff and spacing out."

Should Yoongi tell Jungkook? He wasn't used to opening up about his feelings and issues to the youngest employee."I got a text." he said simply, keeping his gaze forward.

"And?" Jungkook knew that couldn't be it. There had to be more to this. Just a simple text wouldn't cause someone to tense up the way Yoongi was."Is the text important?"

"I don't know." Yoongi sighed and let his fingers touch the outside of his pocket, feeling his phone."I haven't checked to see who it's from."

"Oh." Jungkook understood now."You think it might be...I see." He leaned to the side slightly and peeked down at Yoongi's hand that was on his pocket."Are you going to check it?"

Moving his hand away from his pocket, Yoongi shook his head."No." As much as he wanted to check the text, he needed to refrain from giving in to temptation. He needed to be a good manager.

"Why not? If it's bothering you so much, don't you think you'll feel better once you check it?" That made full sense to Jungkook. After all, he would always find a way to sneak peeks at his texts.

"I can't let my personal life interfere with my work." Yoongi said firmly, mainly trying to convince himself."I'll check it when I take my lunch break."

"Are you sure?" Typically, Jungkook knew not to pry into Yoongi's personal issues, but he was actually concerned right now. Jimin had told him earlier that Yoongi's panic attack a few days ago had been triggered by a text being accidentally sent to Hoseok. So he figured Yoongi must be waiting on a response. That would explain why he was so tense about having an unread text on his phone right now.

With a small sigh, Yoongi nodded."I'm sure. Go back to work."

Knowing he wasn't going to get anywhere by pushing, Jungkook decided to back off."Okay, Hyung." He turned but abruptly stopped when he heard Yoongi speak again.

"Thanks, Kookie, for caring." There was no way Yoongi could look at Jungkook right now. He felt so weak. He wished he could go back to the way he had been before. Why couldn't he just be strong and resilient, like he was before that blind date? But was that even real strength? Or had he just been using a bad attitude and foul language to hide himself like a coward?

 _Maybe I've been weak all along._  Yoongi thought to himself as he heard Jungkook walk away. Was there ever a time when he was able to be strong? He needed someone. He needed comfort and reassurance. But who could give him the things he needed? Yoongi knew Jin would always be there for him, but he couldn't call his best friend right now. Besides, after that drunken night, Jin hadn't set foot in Burger Palace, probably too nervous to see Jimin.

Briefly, Yoongi wondered what was going to come from that night. Jin and Jimin both didn't seem to want to talk about it. Yoongi could tell it was for different reasons though. Jin clearly didn't want to talk about it because he didn't know what to do. He had been dating Jackson but slept with Jimin. But what was Jimin's reason for not wanting to talk about it? Was it because of his large crush on Jungkook? Or was there another reason?

Glancing back toward the food line, Yoongi spotted Jimin making some food for a drive-thru order, just keeping to himself. Though, he also noticed a narrowed gaze that was directed at Jimin from Taehyung.  _What's that all about?_ Yoongi didn't know of any reason for Taehyung to glare at Jimin like that.

He didn't get much time to speculate though. A bell soon dinged to signify the arrival of a customer. So Yoongi pushed his thoughts aside and got back to work.


	36. Chapter 36

_I really need some advice._

 

Yoongi couldn't decide if he was relieved or not that the text he had received was not from Hoseok. It was from Jin. There he was, sitting alone at a table for his lunch break, torn between opposing feelings. He really wanted a response from Hoseok. However, he was also super nervous and scared to see what Hoseok might text back. What if Hoseok didn't want to talk to him? That was something that really scared Yoongi.

_About what?_

There was only one thing that would cause Jin to ask for advice right now, and Yoongi knew that, but he wanted to get Jin to say it. There was nothing for several minutes. Yoongi started to think that Jin wasn't going to text back. He shifted his gaze out the nearby window for a moment before his attention was pulled back to his phone when it vibrated.

 

** Jin **

_I need advice about my situation with Jimin._

 

** Yoongi **

_Just talk to him._

_You two need to work this out._

 

** Jin **

_Just copying the advice given to you about Hoseok?_

 

Yoongi stared at that text and let out a heavy sigh. He knew he needed to talk to Hoseok. He had reached out. Unintentionally, but still, an effort was made.

 

** Yoongi **

_I texted him, Hyung._

 

** Jin **

_You did?_

_Really?_

 

**Yoongi**

_Yeah._

_Now you should talk to Jimin._

_Come here._

 

** Jin **

_Would that be a good idea?_

 

** Yoongi **

_Would you rather go to his house?_

_Or have him go to your house?_

 

** Jin **

_Fine._

_I'll come by there tomorrow._

 

** Yoongi **

_Should I tell Jimin?_

 

** Jin **

_No._

 

** Yoongi **

_Okay._

_Just don't chicken out._

 

** Jin **

_I won't._

 

** Yoongi **

_Good._

_See you tomorrow._

 

"Who're you texting?" Jimin so-nosily asked. When Yoongi slipped his phone into his pocket without an answer, he knew."Jin-hyung, huh? You think he's gotten over it yet?"

That choice of words seemed peculiar to Yoongi."Gotten over it? Like it's something he could easily forget?"

Jimin shrugged his shoulders so simply."Well, I mean, it's not like we can go back and change it. It's done. He needs to move on from it."

"He needs to move on?" Yoongi wasn't liking how this was sounding."You've already moved on from it?"

"Yeah." It had been easy for Jimin to move on from that. So he didn't see why Jin was still unnerved about it."We had sex. So what? We were drunk. That sort of thing happens. There's no use in dwelling on it. It's not like it meant anything."

_It's not like it meant anything._

_It meant everything to Jin-hyung!_  Yoongi hated this."Jimin, why do you even like Jungkook?"

"What's with this question all of a sudden?" Jimin didn't even know what would cause Yoongi to ask that.

"Just answer." This was not looking good to Yoongi. Not at all.

Jimin stuffed his hands into his pockets."He's hot."

Yoongi perked an eyebrow."And?"

"And what?" Jimin cocked his head just a little to the side."No and. Just that. He's hot."

"What about his personality?" Yoongi was really hoping to prove wrong the thoughts he was having."Doesn't his personality interest you at all?"

"No. Not really." Jimin was confused about these questions. He didn't know why Yoongi would suddenly start asking him these things."What's this about, Yoongi-hyung?"

This was troubling. Yoongi didn't like this one bit."Is this a result of you hanging around Namjoon too much? Or have you always been like this, and I'm just finally seeing it?"

"What are you talking about?" Jimin didn't understand.

Standing from his seat, Yoongi narrowed his eyes at Jimin."Appearance is all that matters to you, isn't it? You don't give a shit about anyone's personality. So long as they're attractive enough, you swoon over them. You don't really like Jungkook for who he is. You just like how attractive he is." This was pissing him off."And you never paid a bit of attention to Jin-hyung until recently because you weren't getting anywhere with Jungkook." He clenched his hands into fists by his sides."Jimin, you're fucking shallow."

Jimin's eyes widened just a little and for only a second before he frowned at his manager."Is it really that bad for me to like attractive people?"

"No, but it's bad for you to only care about looks and not give a shit about what's on the inside." It was quickly getting more and more difficult for Yoongi to refrain from punching Jimin."Jungkook is such a good person. He's caring and sweet. He is nice to everyone. And Jin-hyung is wonderful. He's protective of the people close to him and does everything he can to make sure his friends are happy and healthy. But to you, none of that matters. To you..." Yoongi was getting increasingly upset about this."To you, they're just handsome shells. Good on the outside, but nothing on the inside matters."

Letting out a huff, Jimin really didn't like the way Yoongi was talking to him, no matter how true his words were."So what? If I hook up with a man, I want him to be really attractive. Is that a crime?"

"You slept with my best friend, Jimin, and you're acting like it was nothing." Yoongi had enough of this. He was getting too angry."Go back to work. We'll discuss this some other time."

"Whatever, Hyung. I really don't see a reason for this discussion anyway." Not liking the way Yoongi had been talking to him, Jimin just turned and walked away. He could tell Yoongi was mad, but he honestly didn't see much of a problem with the way he acted. Though, maybe he could understand that Yoongi was being protective of his best friend.

Yoongi knew he should have controlled his temper a little better, but it had really upset him to finally see how shallow Jimin was. With that type of attitude, he doubted there was any way Jin could ever be with Jimin. Maybe Jin was as blind to Jimin's shallowness as Yoongi had previously been. But now Yoongi saw that shallowness. Maybe seeing that would be the thing that could help Jin get over his pointless crush.


	37. Chapter 37

"Why does Tae-hyung keep giving you the stink eye?" Jungkook found himself asking Jimin as they were setting up everything in the morning. It was almost time for Burger Palace to open, and all of them were busy with their specific areas. However, Jungkook always found a way to talk whenever he wanted. Of course, this tended to get him in trouble, but Yoongi wasn't nearby to lecture him at the moment.

Jimin shrugged his shoulders as he was making sure everything on the food line was in the right spot."How should I know? He doesn't really talk to me much anymore."

This was surprising for Jungkook. He had thought that Jimin and Taehyung were great friends."But you two talk all the time."

"Not lately." Jimin sighed heavily."I think Tae is disappointed in me. I mean, that's the only thing that makes sense to me."

"Why would he be disappointed in you?" Jungkook wasn't fully in the loop of things, but he wanted to be. He wanted to know everything that happened between everyone, despite it not really being any of his business.

Slumping his shoulders a little, Jimin glanced toward the drive-thru to see Taehyung organizing everything he needed. Then, he returned his gaze to Jungkook."Well, I don't know if you've heard, but I slept with Jin-hyung recently. We were drunk, so it's not like it meant much."

Jungkook's eyes widened with a mixture of shock and interest."You had drunk sex with Jin-hyung?"

"Yeah, and Tae's been giving me the evil eye ever since." Jimin was certain that it had to be because of his drunken night with Jin. What else could possibly cause his friend to stop talking to him?

"Ohh." Something clicked in Jungkook's mind."Maybe Tae-hyung likes you." he suggested."You slept with Jin-hyung, and now he's jealous."

Jimin made a small wave of his hand."Nah, I don't think so. He and I have always just been friends." He didn't really see that as a possibility."Besides, he's not really my type."

That didn't really make much sense to Jungkook."How is he not your type? I mean, you two always got along great until recently. I thought you two would be perfect for each other. And he's cute, I guess. I mean, I'd probably find him incredibly attractive if I liked guys."

"I like tougher men, Kookie." Jimin said with a roll of his eyes."Tae's cute, but he has these goofy moments that make me doubt he'd be fully serious in bed."

"But what about his serious moments?" This analysis by Jimin didn't seem fair to Jungkook.

"What serious moments?" Jimin didn't seem to find it possible for Taehyung to be really serious about anything.

A look of disbelief came over Jungkook's face."Have you forgotten that he totally helped Yoongi-hyung get through a panic attack a few days ago? And Yoongi-hyung is training him for a promotion." He made a 'pft' and lightly shook his head."You need to pay more attention, Hyung. I can't believe you've been Tae-hyung's friend for so long and never noticed that he has such maturity under his playful personality."

Jimin made a 'pft' right back at Jungkook."How am I supposed to notice it when he never shows it?" He had never seen or noticed Taehyung being mature.

"He shows it a lot." Placing a hand on his hip as he spoke, Jungkook completely stopped working to explain this to Jimin."He has always shown maturity. Sure, he goofs off occasionally, as we all do, but he actually works a lot harder than you and me. You ever notice that he doesn't chat with us whenever we have conversations like this? It's because he's focusing on his job. You know why he doesn't go to the bar with you? You call him a party pooper for not wanting to get drunk with you, but he is just being responsible. And why do you think Yoongi-hyung is training him for a promotion and not you or me? Because Tae-hyung is showing that he can do it."

"Damn, Kook. Way to shove it in my face." Jimin hadn't realized that he had missed so much.

"Jungkook. Jimin." Yoongi's voice grabbed their attention."Stop gabbing and get everything set up. Just a few more minutes until opening time."

"Sorry, Hyung." Jimin turned back to the food line to finish getting it ready.

Jungkook lightly tapped Jimin's shoulder then pointed to the drive-thru area."Watch."

Yoongi stepped over to the drive-thru area and placed a hand on Taehyung's shoulder to get his attention."Taehyung, you mind coming to the back and helping me with some supply orders?"

"Sure." Taehyung responded with a wide smile. He loved helping Yoongi with the orders."Is it a big order?"

"Not really, but there's been an update to the system for ordering, so I'll show you how to work it." Yoongi smiled back at Taehyung then walked with him to the backroom.

It was such a small interaction, but it showed a lot."I guess you're right." Jimin said with a bit of realization."Yoongi-hyung is treating Tae like a much more responsible person."

"Since you don't work in the back much, you don't see their interactions as much as I do." Jungkook tended to see Yoongi and Taehyung working in the back together since he worked back there as well to organize supplies and clean."Maybe you should give Tae-hyung a chance."

"I'll think about it." Jimin wasn't really sure if Taehyung could ever be his type. Also, he couldn't be fully sure if Jungkook was right about Taehyung possibly liking him. If that was the case, would Jimin be willing to have more than a simple hookup? Hooking up was no big deal, in his opinion. The consequences could be a big deal though, which was why he had been worried after having sex with Jin. But he had gotten over it because he and Jin didn't really have that much of a connection before it happened anyway. This was different. Taehyung had been his close friend for a long time. What if they hooked up and ended up accidentally ruining everything between them? But then again, with Taehyung constantly giving him the stink eye, what was left to be ruined? Jimin really didn't know.


	38. Chapter 38

"It's not your fault, Hyung. It's my fault." Hoseok said with such heavy emotion in his tone. lying on his back and staring up at the ceiling with his phone in his hand, he was having trouble finding the right words to say."I know how you feel. At least, I think I can understand a little, but..." He let out a heavy sigh."I don't love you."

A groan slipped out from Hoseok as he knew those were the wrong words."I don't know if I love you." Those words didn't seem right either."I've never been in love before, so I don't know how it feels. What I do know is that I really enjoyed being around you. I liked holding your hand and kissing you. I liked being in your arms." Tears pooled in Hoseok's eyes as he spoke, his voice wavering.

"Yoongi-hyung, I don't know what to do." Moving his free hand up, Hoseok rubbed his eyes to make the tears go away, but more just replaced them."Ugh, I can't do this. Nothing sounds right. It's too hard." He frowned deeply as he pressed the button on the side of his phone to turn off the screen. Then, he dropped his phone aside, not really sure of where it landed."Fuck my life."

"Hoseok!!" Namjoon could be heard calling."You home?!" The sound of the front door closing was soon heard as well.

"I'm in my room!!" Hoseok called back. He listened to Namjoon's footsteps as they grew closer. Hearing his bedroom door open, he sighed heavily."What's up?"

Namjoon stepped over to the bed and seated himself on the end of it."Well, I was thinking we could go to the park for a while."

"The park? Why? That's lame." Hoseok rolled onto his side, turning toward Namjoon.

"Seok, you've been keeping yourself cooped up in here, and it's not good for you." Reaching out, Namjoon lightly placed a hand onto Hoseok's side, giving a small pat of comfort."I know you've been feeling down, and I know you really like relaxing at the park. So let's do that."

Hoseok let out a sigh, not really sure if he should go or not. He wasn't really in the mood to go anywhere. He wasn't particularly fond of leaving his bedroom at the moment."Joon, I really don't want to." He grabbed Namjoon's wrist and moved his friend's hand away from his side."Can't I be alone? I just want to, you know, sulk in my misery and permanent darkness."

"Don't you want to feel the sunshine?" Namjoon knew Hoseok was really unhappy, but he wanted to help."Don't you love the sunshine and its warmth?"

"It's not the same anymore." With a deep frown, Hoseok felt the desire for his bed to just suck him into the mattress and keep him there forever."You know, I think I found a new kind of sunshine, but I've lost it, and I'm in darkness now."

Namjoon didn't quite understand."A new sunshine? What do you mean?"

"Yoongi-hyung..." Hoseok knew he was being sappy, corny, cheesy, any other word someone might use to describe this. Still, this was how he truly felt."Yoongi-hyung was like a new sunshine for me..." He wasn't sure how to explain it to Namjoon, but he was trying."He gave me a light. It was a light that can't be seen, but it can be felt." His eyes burned with the threat of tears."I told you before, didn't I? I'm tired of being everyone's sunshine. I want someone to be my sunshine for once. But..."

"But you pushed him away by breaking up with him." This was making more sense now."It scared you, didn't it? You wanted a sunshine of your own, and you found him, but you also felt pressured to be his sunshine as well. Am I right?" Namjoon watched Hoseok nod a little before continuing."You're not used to letting someone else be the sunshine, and you're afraid of relying on him too much. You thought that would cause him to get sick of you, like you would just be a burden."

Hoseok hated the way he felt right now. The burning in his eyes worsened as he also got an aching feeling in his chest. He felt like crying, and he wished it would stop. He was tired of feeling miserable, but at the same time, he felt like he deserved it."How do you understand these feelings so well, Joon?"

A tender smile spread itself across Namjoon's lips."I understand because I've had the same feelings before. When I was with Yongguk, I was afraid to let myself rely on him too much because I thought that would push him away. But he made me happy. I wanted to wrap myself in the warmth and happiness he provided while we were together, but it also scared me to think that I was fully putting myself in someone else's care. It takes a lot of trust to do that."

"I really did trust Yoongi-hyung a lot..." Hoseok pursed his lips together as he thought about his feelings. They were so confusing for him, so he was rather relieved that Namjoon understood this well."But why am I feeling this way? I don't understand my own feelings. I want to go back to him, but I also want to run far away. It makes no sense. Why can't feelings be easier?"

Namjoon chuckled lightly. He understood more than Hoseok knew."You want to know what these feelings mean, right?" Seeing Hoseok nod and hearing the small hum that accompanied it, he gave his best friend's hip a light pat."I'll tell you what they mean if you agree to go to the park with me."

Hearing that, Hoseok got silent for a moment. Should he stay home and try to figure this out on his own? Or should he agree and be told? He really didn't want to go anywhere, but he was also desperate to know what his feelings meant."Okay, Joon, you win. I'll go." He heard Namjoon hum softly, just imagining the know-it-all smirk that must be on his face. He wasn't prepared for the answer he received though.

"You're in love."


	39. Chapter 39

"You said you were going to come here and talk to him today." Yoongi resisted the temptation to scold Jin for not showing up.

"I'll be there, Yoongi." Jin certainly did not sound motivated.

"When? After we close?" Yoongi glanced at the nearby clock on the wall and sighed."Hyung, we close in an hour. Are you going to be here in time?"

A soft mumble was heard from Jin before he answered more audibly."Yes. I'll be there in time."

"You better be." Yoongi said with a huff.

"Is that any way to speak to your hyung?"

"You aren't acting like a hyung." Yoongi retorted.

There was a heavy sigh."I know. This is just...hard. I've never had to handle a situation like this before."

A tender half-smile came over Yoongi's lips."I understand, Jin-hyung, but I'm here for you."

"I love you, Yoongi." Jin's tone was full on fondness."You're my best friend."

"You're my best friend too, Hyung." Spotting Taehyung coming toward him, Yoongi ended the tender moment."Anyway, I have to go now. You better get here before we close." Then, he ended the call without giving Jin a chance to say anything else. Slipping his phone into his pocket, Yoongi turned his attention to Taehyung."What's up?"

Taehyung had a smile tugging at his lips."You were speaking to Jin-hyung, right?" He could always tell whenever Yoongi was speaking to Jin. It was obvious from his facial expressions."Is he coming here?"

"Yeah, he should be here before we close. Why are you asking?" Yoongi knew Taehyung could be goofy and random when starting conversations out of the blue, but his conversational tactics could be very professional too.

"Well, I was just thinking that we could make him some burgers before we finish putting everything away." Taehyung knew that Jin liked the burgers here. He also memorized the way Jin liked them because he got them the same way every time.

Yoongi gave a small shake of his head."That won't be necessary. Jin-hyung isn't coming here to simply hang out." He became a little concerned when he saw Taehyung's demeanor drop a little, like his positivity was let out like air from a deflating balloon."Tae, you okay?"

However, Taehyung quickly perked himself back up."Yeah, of course I'm okay. Jin-hyung must be coming to talk to Jimin then, huh?"

"That's right." Yoongi stood from where he had been seated at a table near the furthest corner of the decently-sized burger joint.

"Okay. I guess I'll finish helping Jimin and Jungkook get everything put away." Taehyung was definitely disappointed, but he didn't want to talk about it. He didn't want to tell anyone how he felt about the situation with Jimin and Jin.

 When Taehyung turned to walk away, Yoongi spoke up again."Are you sure you're okay, Tae? You seem a little down."

Taehyung looked back over his shoulder at his manager with a boxy grin."Yes, I'm okay, Hyung. Don't worry. If I'm ever not okay, I'll let you know." He didn't want to spill his thoughts to Yoongi, though there was someone with whom he wanted to speak. So when he headed back behind the counter, he reached out to lightly tap Jimin's shoulder along the way.

Jimin looked at Taehyung and knew he wanted to talk about something. That would be the only reason Taehyung would get his attention like that at work. Glancing over the counter to the dining area, he saw that Yoongi had gotten to work wiping off the tables. As long as the manager was busy, he probably wouldn't notice if Jimin and Taehyung talked for a few minutes. Following Taehyung into the supply closet, which seemed really odd to him, Jimin figured this would also be a good chance for him to take the risk of possibly hooking up with his best friend.

Now that they were alone, Taehyung had a very important question to ask."Jimin, I'm just going to get straight to the point." He inhaled deeply then let the breath out through his nose to keep his nerves calm."Is there anything going on between you and Jin-hyung, besides the one drunk night?"

Jimin couldn't honestly say that he was completely surprised by this question, only a little bit. After all, he and Jungkook did suspect that Taehyung might like him. If that was the case, it would make sense for Taehyung to want to be sure that nothing else was happening between him and Jin."No, nothing else is going on between us."

"Good." Taehyung was pleased about that."That's all I wanted to know." He grabbed the knob to the door but didn't open it because Jimin spoke.

"Tae, I have something to ask you as well." Jimin figured he might as well go for it.

Taehyung released the knob and turned back to fully face Jimin."What?"

"We've been friends for a long time. Best friends, actually." Jimin was a little nervous about this because this could end up ruining what they still had of their friendship if this went wrong."I love being around you, and I think you like being around me. So I'm just wondering if you'd like to, well maybe...um...." He wasn't quite sure of what words he should use in this situation. He had never tried to hook up with a close friend before.

"Jimin." Taehyung seemed to understand though."If you're trying to ask me out or for a hookup, the answer is no. You're just my friend, and I want you to stay that way." He let out a slightly frustrated sigh."However, I will let you move back up to your original best friend status once I can fully forgive you for your stupidity."

"Forgive me for my stupidity?" Jimin didn't really get that. He knew what he had done to upset Jin and Jackson, but what had he done to upset Taehyung."Did I do something wrong to you, Tae? If I did, I'm sorry."

Taehyung placed a hand on his hip."Jimin, apologies aren't genuine if you don't know what you're apologizing for."

Jimin frowned but knew that was right."I'll think about it and give you a genuine apology when I figure it out."

"Good." Taehyung reached out and ruffled Jimin's hair."Let's get back to work. It's almost closing time."

 

 

**A/N: For those of you who don't know, I've been taking some time away from my books because of an injury. On Thanksgiving night, I fell at work and broke my wrist. I was unable to write and going through plenty of pain. A couple days after Christmas, I got my cast off. However, I am not fully recovered yet. My wrist still hurts a lot, and it's very weak. I'm going through physical therapy this month to regain strength and mobility in that wrist. I will try to start updating again, but I can't promise that updates will be quick while I'm still recovering. Anyway, I really want to thank all of you for being so patient with me. It really means a lot. :)**


	40. Chapter 40

"And?"

Jimin perked an eyebrow at Jungkook as they were putting away their cleaning supplies."And what?"

"Don't act clueless with me. I saw you go into the closet with Tae-hyung." Jungkook's face held a know-it-all expression, which was actually pretty normal.

"Before you start thinking that you know what happened, I'll have you know that Tae rejected me." Jimin stated flatly. He hated rejection, but he knew that it was a part of life."You were wrong about him possibly liking me. In fact, I've apparently done something to upset him, and I don't know what."

Jungkook's expression shifted a little into a bit of a tell-me-more look."Apparently? You mean you don't know what you've done to upset him?"

Jimin shook his head then sighed softly."I don't know. But whatever it is, it's the cause of the stink eye he's been giving me lately, I guess. It has also bumped me down from my best friend status."

"Bummer." Jungkook wiped his hands on the front of his shirt once he finished putting away his cleaning supplies."How are you going to figure out what you did?"

"I don't know." Jimin did know that he needed to figure this out. He couldn't just push it all aside and pretend that things between him and Taehyung would just go back to normal without any effort on his part. Well, he could try to pretend, but that wouldn't work."Jungkook, I've been a bad friend to Tae. I know that. But I feel like it's something more than that. I know Tae would forgive me for not noticing his mature side because he doesn't really show it much around me, but whatever I did to upset him now is something that he isn't forgiving me for yet."

Reaching out, Jungkook lightly pat Jimin's shoulder twice."Just do some thinking about the things you've done lately. It'll come to you. And when you figure it out, find a way to fix it."

"I just wish it was easier." Jimin hated it when things were tough. He preferred for life to be smooth and easy. It couldn't be like that all the time though, could it?

"Jimin!"

"Yoongi-hyung's calling for you. Don't make him wait." Jungkook watched Jimin sigh then walk out of the backroom.

Jimin quietly mumbled to himself as he made his way to the front. There was so much on his mind that he didn't now what else he could handle today. It may not seem like he had a lot wrong to anybody else, but these problems were more than he was used to handling on his own. And it only became worse when he got up front to the counter. Jin was there, standing beside Yoongi with obvious nervousness."Yeah?"

Yoongi was feeling nervous about this as well. He really didn't want things to get worse between Jin and Jimin. He just wanted this to be resolved and over. If they worked things out, that would be good. If this caused Jin to get over his crush and move on, that would be even better in Yoongi's opinion. Not saying anything to Jimin, Yoongi lightly touched Jin's arm and gave him a soft gaze, silently sending a little comfort.

This was the moment Jin needed to face. He had been thinking about this all day, and he didn't really know how to handle it, but here he was, facing it. He couldn't just run away from this and hide. He had to face this in order to properly move on and get over his crush. Though, he couldn't deny that there was still a small bit of hope in him that he and Jimin could embrace this together and make something better out of it."Jimin, can we talk for a moment? Alone?"

"Sure." Jimin's gaze switched from Jin to Yoongi then back to Jin. He was definitely not looking forward to this. Despite the fact that Jimin was usually quite confident in one-night stands, his drunken night with Jin had messed things up. He knew it was a mistake, so talking to Jin alone made him a little nervous. Depending on how this went, he might lose some friends.

Jin made a small motion with his hand for Jimin to follow him then headed outside. He lead the way around to the side of the building then stopped and turned to face Jimin. This spot meant something to him. This was the same spot where Jimin had asked him to go on a blind date with Namjoon. This spot was where it was driven into Jin's heart that he was never going to have Jimin, and his crush was pointless."Jimin, about that night, we need to set some things straight."

Jimin completely missed the significance of this spot, not knowing why Jin lead him directly here when they could have spoken in the bathroom or just been alone in the corner of the dining area. It was a little cold outside, a soft breeze blowing and dark clouds hiding the stars. It smelled like rain."I know, Jin-hyung. We need to get past this."

"I just need to know..." Jin was afraid of the answer he may receive. He knew that his crush was pointless and that he would never have Jimin, but he still hated being rejected by him."Did it mean anything to you? Anything at all?"

Jimin had been afraid of this question. Though he already knew that it hadn't really meant anything to him, the reactions he had received from his friends really showed him that he was in the wrong. He had made a very bad decision, and his way of using others and viewing hookups was terrible. He had to be honest. He had to own up to his mistake."No." Jimin saw the pain in Jin's expression, and that was when it hit him for the first time. How could he be so blind?"Jin-hyung, I'm sorry."

"You're  _sorry_?" Jin couldn't take that apology. He couldn't accept it."Do you even  _know_ how much you  _hurt_ me? How much that  _meant_ to me? What I would have  _done_  to have you if it meant  _something_ to you?" Just as tears began to impede his vision, the first droplets of rain were felt.

"Jin-hyung, I really am sorry. I mean it." Jimin knew he had been wrong, and he was finally seeing just how bad this must be for Jin. He finally saw the other man's feelings."I messed up. It's all my fault, and I completely understand that you probably won't forgive me."

"You're right." Jin stiffened up and refused to cry."I won't forgive you. At least, not for now. I don't know if I ever will. For the time being, I think it's best for you and me to not see each other. I need to work through my feelings, and I can't do that around you."

Jimin lowered his gaze and nodded."I understand." As the rain started to come down more, he turned his gaze to the building, wanting to go back inside."I'll stay away from you."

Jin watched as Jimin turned to head back inside. However, he said one last thing to him."You should apologize to Jackson. I have already spoken to him about that night. You should too."

"I will." Jimin sighed heavily and headed back inside, greeted by the sight of the others, who had all been apparently waiting to see the outcome. Meeting their gazes, he just shook his head and sat at a table, putting his head down to think.

"Where's Jin-hyung?" Jungkook wondered as the older man didn't return.

Yoongi peered toward the door and knew the answer. He knew Jin well enough to know that he wouldn't want to come back inside after that talk."Most likely walking home." He cocked his head slightly to the side when he saw Taehyung head to the door with his jacket in his hand."Taehyung, it's raining. You should put your jacket on before heading out."

Taehyung didn't say a word though. He just went outside with his jacket in his hand. His eyes scanned the area before he spotted Jin, walking away with his arms wrapped around himself."Jin-hyung!" he called as he jogged after the older man.

Hearing his name being called, Jin stopped and looked back. He was confused when he saw Taehyung. He knew Taehyung, but they weren't really close. They didn't know each other very well, only speaking to each other whenever they would both sit with Yoongi to hang out."I'm sorry, Taehyung, but I really just want to go home right now."

A soft smile came over Taehyung's lips when he caught up to Jin."I'll walk you home." Reaching around, he placed his jacket onto Jin's shoulders, much to his hyung's surprise.

"You really don't need to." Jin didn't want to be an inconvenience to someone he didn't know very well.

"I want to." Taehyung's heart melted when Jin smiled at him, accepting his company for the walk.

\---

Jungkook seated himself beside Jimin and lightly placed a hand his back. He didn't say anything, just offered a little emotional support. As they all sat in silence, he looked over toward Yoongi. The manager needed to be the last to leave, so he was actually stuck there until Jimin and Jungkook would head home. However, the silence of the place was soon broken by the sound of ringing.

Yoongi glanced toward the direction of the ringing before looking at Jungkook."Take Jimin home, okay? It's late."

Jungkook gave a nod then watched Yoongi head toward the back to answer the phone."Hyung, you heard him. Let's go."

When Yoongi got into the backroom, he was rather confused."Who the hell is calling us this late? Don't they know we're closed?" He grabbed the phone and sighed before answering."Hello, you've reached Burger Palace. How may I help you?"

"Hyung..."

 _That voice..._  "Hoseok..?"


	41. Chapter 41

"Hyung?" Hoseok didn't get another response. All Yoongi had said to him was his name. He wasn't hearing anything else."Hyung..?" He was starting to get a little worried. What if Yoongi didn't want to talk to him? What if he had misunderstood something about the text?"Yoongi-hyung, please talk to me."

There was still no response. Did Yoongi not want to talk to him?"Yoongi-hyung, I know I hurt you. I'm sorry. Just please say something to me." Still nothing. Hoseok was growing more and more worried. Why wasn't Yoongi saying anything? Soon, Hoseok's worry reached a peak when there was a 'thunk', like the phone may have been dropped. Low mutters could barely be heard.

Getting really quiet, Hoseok tried to hear what Yoongi was muttering. It was very hard to hear anything, but there was some shuffling then more muttering. Hearing Yoongi just a little more clearly, Hoseok left his bedroom as quickly as he could manage without crashing into anything."Namjoon!! Namjoon!!"

"What?!" Fast footsteps approached with a concerned pace."Seok, is something wrong?!"

"We need to get to Yoongi-hyung! Right now!" Hoseok didn't have time to explain. He was so worried and knew something was wrong."Take me to Burger Palace!"

"Seok, they're closed. Won't he be at his house?" Namjoon was confused now. What had caused his best friend to panic like this?

There was no time for questions though."Namjoon, take me to Burger Palace right now! There's no time!"

\---

Yoongi rocked back and forth a bit as he was seated on the floor in the backroom of Burger Palace. The phone was on the floor nearby. He held his head in his hands but couldn't manage to keep his vision straight. His head felt like it was in the clouds, low on oxygen and full of fuzziness. His breaths were short and sharp, forced and hard to draw.

"I can't...breathe...I can't..."

Yoongi couldn't focus. His mind was swarming. He had a million thoughts about Hoseok, mixed in with his thoughts about his current situation. He was alone. He couldn't breathe, couldn't stand. He was shaking so much. The room felt like it was spinning, making him nauseous.

 _I'm gonna die!_  His panicked mind thought. _I can't breathe! I'm gonna die!_

His mind was screaming at him, screaming for help.  _Hoseok! Hoseok!_

Yoongi was so scared. Normally, Jin or Taehyung would be around to help him calm down, but he had no one right now. He was by himself, unable to calm down. His unfocused vision became blurry. Hot tears fell down his cheeks. He was getting very lightheaded. If he didn't calm down soon, he would undoubtedly pass out from hyperventilation.

"Yoongi-hyung!"

In his hazy state, Yoongi didn't recognize the voice.

"Hey! Yoongi-hyung!"

Wait, there were two voices.

Yoongi couldn't muster any strength in his body to move. Everything felt heavy, except his head. It was a mixture of feelings. Heavy yet very light. Empty yet crammed full. Numb yet throbbing. It made Yoongi feel like vomiting.

Yet, there was something in Yoongi's peripheral that pulled his attention. Something dark. Looking at him. A hallucination? Probably. He didn't know. His oxygen-deprived mind played tricks with his eyes.

"Yoongi-hyung!"

The call of his name was almost drowned out by the ringing in his ears.

"I've got you! Hold on!"

Yoongi couldn't even look at the person beside him. His hazy gaze tried to see the dark thing, but it moved, remaining just out of his line of sight, only spotted at the edge of his blurry vision.

"Seok, call for an ambulance!" A hand brushed some hair away from Yoongi's forehead."Did you hit your head? Hyung, can you hear me?"

_I'm gonna die._

Whether Yoongi actually closed his eyes or not, it didn't matter. His vision went blank, as did his mind. He passed out.

\---

This was something Jimin had never done before. It was a new feeling, but he knew that he needed to face it. He needed to be honest and get some things off his chest. No matter how this might turn out, he had to do it. He had to fix his mistakes, starting with the beginning."Jungkook." He hesitated for just a couple seconds when the taller male peered at him with such a pure gaze."Can we talk? Inside, I mean."

They had reached Jimin's small house, and Jungkook had been about to walk away. Looking at Jimin right now, he could tell there was something he really needed to say."Sure." He watched Jimin unlock the front door and open it. He followed him inside and shifted his gaze around. He had never been inside Jimin's home before. It was small and a little cluttered but not messy.

Jimin made his way to his living room, knowing Jungkook was close behind."Sit with me?"

After Jimin sat down on the single little sofa, Jungkook sat down beside him."What's on your mind, Hyung?"

"Jungkook, I really don't know how to say this." Jimin searched his brain for the right words, but it was difficult. He had never actually done this before.

"Say what?" Jungkook had an idea of what might be coming. He wasn't oblivious, like the others probably thought he was. He just hadn't wanted to get himself tangled up in any issues that might cause trouble for himself or Chaeyoung.

Maybe the best way to say it would be just straight out, no beating around the bush."I don't like Chaeyoung." He lowered his gaze."I mean...She's not bad. There's nothing wrong with you dating her. I just..."

"Jimin-hyung?" Truthfully, Jungkook didn't like to hear that Jimin didn't like Chaeyoung, but he knew that everyone would have their own opinions about her.

Just getting the right words out was a lot harder than Jimin thought it would be. So he forced them out. He had to do it. These words needed to be said."What I mean to say is...Jungkook, I like you. I don't like Chaeyoung because she's dating you. I'm jealous."

Jungkook cocked his head a little to the side and peered at Jimin with such a soft gaze."I understand. Jimin-hyung, I'm sorry for causing those feelings in you. I can't return them."

"I know." Jimin had known all along that he and Jungkook would never be together. It had been in his face this whole time, but he had chosen to ignore it for so long."You're straight. I never stood a chance against a pretty girl like Chaeyoung."

With a soft sigh, Jungkook placed a hand onto Jimin's shoulder."You know, there doesn't need to be any bad feelings between you and me or even you and Chaeyoung. If you give her a chance, I know you two could actually be friends."

Maybe that would be a good idea. Maybe Jimin just needed to get to know Chaeyoung a little more and come to terms with the fact that Jungkook was happy with her. Jungkook would never be his."You know what? I would like that." It might be nice to become friends with Chaeyoung.


	42. Chapter 42

When Yoongi awoke, he was confused. Was this the hospital? Why was he here? The last thing he remembered was answering the phone in Burger Palace.  _Hoseok?_  Everything that happened after that was a blur. As Yoongi slowly shifted his gaze around, he tried to remember what had happened. His head was hurting though, which made it hard for him to think.  _What happened after I answered?_  He couldn't remember.  _Did we talk? I don't remember._

This was rather concerning for Yoongi. He couldn't remember what had happened after answering the phone call. It was a blank. Though, he could guess that he might have gone into a really bad panic attack. Whenever his panic attacks got super bad and no one was around to help him calm down, he would often not remember it. It would just be a blank in his memory. He supposed that was common though.

Sitting up, Yoongi glanced around the room to find that he was alone.  _How did I get here?_  That was a blank too. Maybe he could ask a nurse or doctor and get out of here. He felt fine, just hungry. So he shouldn't need to stay any longer. Finding the call button nearby, Yoongi pressed it to call for a nurse. A nurse entered just a couple minutes later.

"Good morning." She greeted with a sweet smile."It's nice to see you awake. How are you feeling?"

Yoongi almost didn't know how to react. He was almost speechless as he mentally dealt with the sight of the beautiful big-breasted nurse. Slightly shaking his head to make himself focus, he answered."I'm feeling okay, I think."

"That's wonderful." The nurse grabbed a thermometer from a drawer and put a cover on it before stepping closer to the bed."Let's take your temperature, then I can get you some breakfast." When Yoongi opened his mouth, she carefully inserted the thermometer, placing the end under his tongue. It was pretty silent until the thermometer beeped to signify that it was done. Pulling it out of Yoongi's mouth, she smiled."Well, you don't have a fever. That's good. You were a little warm when you were brought in last night."

That brought up Yoongi's biggest question."How did I get here?"

The nurse made a small hum."You were brought in an ambulance with a young man. He left a note for you at the nurse station. I'll retrieve it for you." That said, the nurse left the room.

 _A young man? But who?_  This didn't make a lot of sense to Yoongi. He had been the only person in Burger Palace. The only person who knew he was still there that late would be Hoseok. Hoseok couldn't have been the one to bring him here because his blindness would make him unable to do that.

When the nurse returned, she held a note in her hand, holding it out for Yoongi once she approached the bed."This is the note he left. He requested that it be given to you once you woke up."

"Thank you." Yoongi accepted the note and read it.

_'_ _I couldn't wait around, so here's my number._

_Give me a call to let me know you're okay._

_Hoseok's super worried._

_-Namjoon'_

Viewing Namjoon's number at the bottom of the note, Yoongi wondered if he should call now or wait until he would get home. Looking at the nurse, he figured it was time for him to leave anyway."Am I good to leave now?"

The nurse gave a simple nod before speaking."From what was described to us last night when you were brought in, you had a panic or anxiety attack. You are stable and calm now, so yes, you are free to leave. Just make your way to the front desk and sign yourself out at discharge."

Yoongi watched the nurse leave the room again then got up from the bed. He folded the note and stuck it into his pocket. Leaving the room, he glanced around to orientate himself and spotted an arrow on the wall that pointed in the direction of the front desk to keep patients and visitors from getting lost or confused. Yoongi followed the arrows on the different halls and made his way to the front desk.

After speaking to the woman at the front desk and signing himself out, Yoongi left the hospital and pulled out his phone. Turning on the screen, he saw that he had numerous unread texts and some missed calls. It was 10 o'clock, and he was four hours late for work. He was the only one with keys to Burger Palace, but it must have been left unlocked all night while he was in the hospital. Yoongi sighed and read through his texts.

 

** Jimin **

_Where are you?_

_You up?_

_You coming to work?_

 

** Jungkook **

_Why were the doors left unlocked?_

_You okay?_

 

** Taehyung **

_Is everything okay?_

_We're worried that you're not answering._

 

** Jin **

_Hey._

_Taehyung called me and said you didn't show up for work._

_I stopped by your house._

_Where are you?_

 

The missed calls were from Jimin, Taehyung, and Jin. Yoongi sighed, feeling bad about causing everyone to worry. Tapping Jin's contact, he decided to call him first. As he waited for Jin to answer the call, he leaned his back against the wall of the hospital, standing by the doors. It didn't take long for Jin to answer though. Yoongi didn't even get a chance to speak before his ear was assaulted by Jin's worried voice.

"Yoongi, where have you been?!"

Yoongi sighed, knowing that Jin must be really worried about him."I'm at the--"

"You didn't show up for work and didn't even call!"

"I know. I'm at--"

"Everyone's worried! Is everything okay?!"

"Jin-hyung, shut up for a minute and let me explain!" Yoongi huffed when that worked. Now having a chance to speak, he used a calmer tone."I'm sorry for making everyone worry. I just woke up not even a full hour ago. I'm at the hospital."

"The hospital?! Are you okay?! Are you hurt?!"

Yoongi slumped his shoulders a little and stuffed his free hand into his pocket."I'm fine. I guess I had a really bad panic attack last night. I'm still hazy on how I got here, but I'm okay."

A heavy sigh of relief could be heard from Jin."Do you need me to pick you up?"

Before he answered, Yoongi could hear some shuffling around, like Jin was getting ready to leave."If you don't mind, Hyung."

"Of course I don't mind. I'll be here soon. Which entrance?"

"I'm by the main entrance." Yoongi got a small hum from Jin, then they both hung up. Next, Yoongi pulled the note out of his pocket and looked at Namjoon's number. Figuring it would take Jin at least twenty or thirty minutes to get here, he had enough time to talk to Namjoon real quick about last night. So he dialed the number before stuffing the note back into his pocket.

"Hello?"

Yoongi was really uneasy about talking to Namjoon since they had only met a couple brief times."Uh, hi. It's Yoongi."

"Oh, hey. How're you feeling?"

"I'm okay. Just leaving the hospital now." Yoongi shifted his gaze around to keep an eye out for Jin's car, though he knew his best friend couldn't possibly get here this quickly.

"That's good. Hoseok was super worried about you. That was quite a scare for him."

That made Yoongi feel really bad. He never wanted to scare Hoseok."I'm sorry."

"Don't be. It wasn't your fault."

Now that Namjoon knew he was okay, Yoongi had a question."How did you get to me and get me to the hospital?"

Namjoon probably knew this was coming."Well, after Hoseok called you, he came to me and said that he was worried. He freaked out and said that we needed to get to Burger Palace immediately. I drove us there and searched around for you." he explained."I know I'm not supposed to go into the back because I'm not an employee, but I went back there anyway and found you on the floor. Hoseok called an ambulance, and I rode with you."

"What about Hoseok?" Yoongi found himself hoping Hoseok didn't ride in the ambulance with them. He didn't want him to be scared or freaked out.

"Hoseok waited at Burger Palace with my car. He said he didn't want to get in the way in the ambulance. I ended up having to take a taxi back to Burger Palace to get him and my car."

Yoongi felt really bad about causing Hoseok to feel scared, and he also felt bad about Hoseok being left alone at Burger Palace at night. He hated his panic attacks."Alright. Will you tell Hoseok I'm sorry for scaring him?"

"Sure, I'll tell him, but you really don't need to be sorry."

"Thanks. I have to go now." Yoongi didn't give Namjoon a chance to say anything. He hung up as he saw Jin's car coming closer to the entrance to get him. Stepping over once Jin stopped, Yoongi got into the passenger seat."You must have really floored it to get here so fast."

"I may have gone only a little over the speed limit. Shush." Jin pulled away from the entrance and started driving."Are you sure you're alright?"

Yoongi nodded, despite Jin's gaze being on the road ahead."Yeah. I'm going to call Taehyung and let him know I'm on my way."

"On your way?" Jin didn't like the sound of that.

"On my way to work, of course." As Yoongi turned on his phone screen, it was covered by one of Jin's hands as the other one remained on the steering wheel."Hyung?"

There was a stern expression on Jin's face."You just got out of the hospital. You're not going to work. I'm taking you home."

Not wanting to argue with his hyung, Yoongi sighed."Alright. At least take me by there long enough to give them the keys."

Jin held his hand out expectantly."Just give them to me. I'll deliver them after I take you home."

Fishing the keys from his pocket, Yoongi set them in Jin's hand."Thank you, Jin-hyung."

"You're welcome, Yoongi."

"You're the best."

"I know."

Yoongi chuckled and turned his head to peer out the window. Maybe it would be good for him to spend the day at home. He did feel guilty for causing everyone to worry though. He would try to make up for that some other time.


	43. Chapter 43

Jungkook expected the work day to be harder without Yoongi. He expected there to be times when they wouldn't know what to do without their manager around. Today wasn't what he had expected. Jin had stopped by to tell them what was going on with Yoongi. He gave the Burger Palace keys to Taehyung, saying that was per Yoongi's instructions. And just like that, Taehyung took charge. He told Jungkook and Jimin exactly what to do to get the place ready. He got them started on their usual tasks and somehow managed to run the drive-thru window and the front register by himself. Jungkook was amazed.

It was clear that Jimin was amazed too, even surprised at how efficient and responsible Taehyung was. Taehyung would take drive-thru orders on the headset while ringing up orders at the front counter. It was definitely showing that Yoongi had trained Taehyung well. During the lunch rush, Taehyung was constantly going back and forth between the front counter and the drive-thru window.

"Jungkook, I need you to help Jimin on the line!" Taehyung called from the drive-thru window.

"On it!" Jungkook called back as he came out of the backroom. He pulled on the proper gloves, went over to the food line, and started working on the opposite side from Jimin.

Jimin eyed Jungkook for a moment with a perked eyebrow."Did you wash your hands?"

Jungkook just flashed a cute grin."Of course I did. I was actually just washing my hands when Tae-hyung called for me. And look." He held up his hands."I even put these stupid plastic gloves on."

"Good job." Jimin found himself having some thoughts about last night. Their conversation stuck in his mind. It was okay though."Jungkook."

"Hm?" Jungkook didn't look at Jimin now. They had far too much food to prepare during the lunch rush.

Jimin kept making food as well while he decided to say something real quick. It might not have been important to anyone but himself, but he still wanted to say it."Thank you for hearing me out last night. I was afraid to say it for so long, but being rejected wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be."

Those words made Jungkook smile again."Jimin-hyung, I value your friendship, so I'm glad you're okay with it."

A smile spread across Jimin's lips as well."I value your friendship too, Kookie." He wrapped up some food he just finished preparing and set it over onto a tray, which was quickly grabbed by Taehyung.

"As soon as the rush dies down, you two can take your lunch breaks!" Taehyung called from the front counter.

"Thanks, Tae!" Jimin was hungry and really wished he had eaten breakfast this morning. However, he had been in a hurry to get here when he had gotten a call from Taehyung, stating that the doors were unlocked with Yoongi nowhere to be found. That had concerned him enough to cause him to ignore a missed call from Namjoon.

\---

When the lunch rush was finally over, Jimin poked at the burger he was having for lunch. He'd only eaten a bite so far and a couple fries. He just wasn't in the mood to eat. Despite accepting Jungkook's rejection, he still had other things on his mind. Jimin still needed to talk to Jackson about the night at the bar. He needed to figure out what he had done to upset Taehyung and fix it. There was also the thing of becoming Chaeyoung's friend.

Jimin really did want to try to be her friend. It might be nice. Besides, making a new friend would be a good thing. That wasn't the first thing on his list though. The next thing he wanted to do was talk to Jackson. He knew that he had ruined Jackson's relationship with Jin, and he wanted to fix it.

"You know, your food will taste better if you eat it while it's still hot." Jungkook suggested as he seated himself across from Jimin.

Jimin grabbed a fry and lightly threw it at Jungkook. It hit him in the chest then fell down into his lap."I'll eat, brat."

Jungkook grabbed the fry from his lap and threw it back at Jimin, laughing when it hit his hyung in the face."Sure, you will. I don't see you eating yet."

"I will, you punk!" Taking the top bun off of his burger, Jimin grabbed a pickle and flung it at Jungkook. Both of them got wide-eyed and almost choked on their breath."It stuck!"

Pointing to the pickle that stuck to his cheek with ketchup, Jungkook burst into laughter."Hyung, quick! Take a picture!"

Jimin hastily pulled out his phone and held it up to take a picture."Say pickle cheese!" He snapped a picture as Jungkook barely got the words out through his laughter. He had gotten the picture just in time, as the shaking of Jungkook's laughter soon caused the pickle to fall from his cheek.

"You two are so silly." Taehyung said as he stepped over to the table. He set a small stack of napkins down onto the table."Don't make a mess."

"Are you going to eat with us, Tae-hyung?" Jungkook asked as he grabbed a napkin to wipe some ketchup off of his cheek.

"Eat with us, Tae!" With a grin, Jimin patted the seat next to him.

However, Taehyung shook his head a little."I'll eat later, guys. I'm going to get some of the dishes done." Then, he gave a small motion toward Jungkook while perking an eyebrow at Jimin."Keep an eye on this child, will you?" he teased."You are the oldest one of us here right now."

Jimin made a small, playful gasp."I'm the oldest right now? Does that mean I actually have to be responsible and mature?" he joked, which earned a laugh from Jungkook.

Giving a lighthearted chuckle, Taehyung patted Jimin's head."Don't worry about that. I've got you covered." That said, he walked away to head to the back.

As soon as Taehyung walked away though, Jimin smirked at Jungkook."You heard what he said, right?" He grabbed another pickle from his burger."I don't have to be mature right now!" He flung the pickle at Jungkook.

"But he also said not to make a mess!" Jungkook grabbed the pickle after it hit his shirt and threw it back at Jimin.

"He also brought us napkins!" And with that logic, a little food fight ensued.


	44. Chapter 44

Hoseok pulled his legs close, his knees against his chest. Wrapping his arms around his knees, he rested his chin on them as he breathed a heavy sigh through his nose. His mind felt crowded and heavy as he struggled to relax in the hot water of his bath. _It happened when I called..._ he thought to himself.  _A panic attack..._ He couldn't stop thinking about this. It was taking over his mind the more he wondered about it.

He had not known that Yoongi had panic attacks. Why had this never come up during the time that they had been dating? Was it a secret?  _Is he insecure about it?_  Hoseok thought that was a possibility. This was such important news to him. Why hadn't he thought about this sooner? Of course Yoongi had insecurities. Everyone did."I'm so stupid..." he mumbled quietly as he pouted.

With these thoughts, Hoseok couldn't help but mentally beat himself up.  _I didn't tell him about my insecurities because I was afraid of letting him down._  This was making so much sense to him now, and he wished he had realized this sooner. _I was so worried about my own insecurities that I didn't see the fact that he has insecurities too._  Why had this taken so long for him to realize?

"I should have known..." Hoseok sometimes made a habit of talking himself. This was clearly one of those times.  _He even spoke a little about his insecurities on our second date. He thought he wasn't good enough. He thought there was something wrong with him. Those were signs._  It was all clicking into place in Hoseok's brain.

Tears stung Hoseok's eyes as he thought more about this. He felt like crap.  _I broke up with him because of my insecurities, and that probably just made his own insecurities worse..._ Then came the start of a quivering lip. _I didn't want to let him down, but I let him down by leaving..._ His breaths became a little shaky.  _How can I face him now?_

Hoseok thought back to their second date.  _He said he thought he was better off alone. Something about him kept driving people away._  He was on the verge of crying as he thought about this.  _I told him he hadn't driven everyone away because I was still with him._  His chest hurt, and the feeling of an oncoming sob ached in his throat.  _But I left..._

So here Hoseok was, realizing his mistakes and crying in the tub."I'm so sorry, Yoongi-hyung..."

\---

Jimin sighed softly as he peered out the passenger side window of Namjoon's car."I hope you know that you're going in there too." he said as he kept his gaze glued to the world outside.

"Yeah, yeah, I know." Namjoon resisted the urge to roll his eyes. That wouldn't be a good thing to do while driving."You've only told me a million times."

"Three times." Jimin corrected with a slight huff."I need to speak with Jackson-hyung, and you need to speak to Jin-hyung."

Namjoon knew why Jimin needed to speak to Jackson since Jimin had told him, but he really didn't want to talk to Jin."Why do I need to talk to him?"

Finally, Jimin pulled his gaze away from the outside and looked over at his friend."You should apologize for the bad date."

"Do I have to?" Namjoon didn't really see a big point in doing that."I mean, I know it was bad, but it was just one small date. It didn't really impact his life that much, did it?"

"Hyung, please just do this." Jimin really wanted to make everything right. This was part of that. Besides... "You said you want to do better, right? This is a good first step."

With a sigh, Namjoon gave in to his friend's reasoning."Alright, fine. I'll apologize for the bad date, but I hope you know that he and I aren't going to give it another try."

"That's okay." There was no way Jimin was expecting Namjoon to try to get another date with Jin to try again. No way. He just knew that Namjoon's apology would be a step closer to setting everything right. He would feel better, and he knew this would help Namjoon and Jin both feel a little better too."This is going to be good for all of us. You'll feel better after this. Jin-hyung should feel at least a little better too. And maybe Yoongi-hyung can finally forgive me."

"Oh, right. Yoongi-hyung and Jin-hyung are friends, right?" Namjoon remembered that Jimin had told him that before.

With a nod, Jimin knew that was an understatement."More like brothers. Those two are so close, they're practically family. I really screwed up when I tried to use Yoongi-hyung's best friend as a blind date for you. I should have known that was stupid."

Stopping at a red light, Namjoon reached a hand over to turn on the a/c."Yoongi-hyung got mad at you for that? I guess that's understandable."

"Well, it's not just that." Ready to talk about this with his trusted friend, Jimin fidgeted with his fingers a little."At the time, there was something important that I didn't know. Jin-hyung had a big crush on me. I didn't know until recently. I must have upset him so much by asking him to go on that date with you."

"Well, shit." That seemed like the only appropriate response to Namjoon. He didn't really know how else to react to that."He liked you, but you asked him to be my blind date. I see."

As the ride continued, Jimin got quiet for the next few minutes. When Namjoon parked in front of the cafe though, Jimin could feel himself growing a bit nervous."Are you ready, Namjoon-hyung?"

"Well, we're already here." Namjoon said as he shut off the engine."I kind of have to be ready, right?" He got out of the car and looked ahead, able to see through the large windows of the cafe."He works here? Must be nice to smell the coffee all day. It's such a soothing smell."

Jimin got out of the car as well and rolled his eyes."Let's just go inside. You can enjoy the smell of the coffee while we're in there."


	45. Chapter 45

Jimin couldn't help but feel very nervous as he stood in the line that lead to the counter. He could see Jin behind the counter, currently helping a customer. He didn't see Jackson though. Was Jackson not here today? Had Jimin come on a wrong day? Well, if this was a wrong day, Namjoon could still talk to Jin at the very least. Jimin was so nervous that he nearly forgot that Namjoon was standing right beside him until his best friend spoke.

"This is going to be awkward." Namjoon was definitely not looking forward to this. He thought that he and Jin could just never speak to each other again and be fine with that. He didn't really see why Jimin thought he should apologize for one bad date.

"Just chill." Jimin needed to take that advice himself."We'll order drinks, ask if Jackson-hyung is here, and see when Jin-hyung is available to take his break to talk to you. It'll be fine."

Namjoon looked down at Jimin and perked an eyebrow with a knowing gaze."You sound more like you're trying to convince yourself."

Shifting his gaze to the side, Jimin heaved a sigh."Maybe. You know, I actually tried to avoid this today. I know it needs to be done, but I'm uneasy about it. I don't know what to say to Jackson-hyung."

Namjoon simply shrugged his shoulders."It shouldn't be too hard. Though, I know it won't be as simple as just saying 'Yo, sorry about fucking your boyfriend' or something like that."

Taking a step forward as the short line progressed, Jimin frowned only a little."I mean, it's not like any of us wanted things to be this way. Things didn't become messed up on purpose. Well, maybe there was some purpose in it, but I don't think it's fully my fault that I am the way I am."

"You mean like situational influences and environmental stimulus?" Namjoon thought that made a lot of sense."We are the way we are because of our surroundings. The way we grow up, our environments, the people we encounter. It all influences us and makes us choose the choices that move our lives."

"Not quite what I was going for, but you're not wrong." Jimin had something else in mind that influenced his decisions, but he knew Namjoon wouldn't understand.  _Not everyone understands, but I know someone has to._  Jimin had his own views of his life and choices, but he didn't dare to share that with anyone.

When they reached the counter after about five more minutes of waiting in line, Namjoon's gaze rested on the handsome man behind the counter. He really did think Jin was very good-looking. However, he was also certain that there would never be a spark or connection between them, so there was no point in wasting their time by trying.

Jin seemed to get a little annoyed when he saw Jimin and Namjoon. After all, he and Jimin had agreed to leave each other alone, and he definitely didn't want to see Namjoon after that awful date."Please tell me you're both just here for coffee."

"Is that any way to speak to customers?" Namjoon teased. Then, he smiled to ease the tension that would surely grow."Yeah, we'll get drinks." He glanced up at the overhead menu for just a second before stating what he wanted."I would like a tall ***** double white mocha iced coffee with an extra shot of espresso."

"Cream?" Jin asked, giving a small hum when Namjoon simply nodded."And you, Jimin?"

Jimin was glad that this wasn't too bad at the moment, though that probably had to do with the fact that Jin had to be nice to customers."I want a venti ***** strawberry frappuccino with heavy cream."

Jin put in their orders on the register."That'll be 10167₩." ******

Just as Jimin reached for his wallet, Namjoon pat his shoulder once."I got it." He pulled out his wallet and handed a card to Jin."Will you be having a break soon?" he asked the handsome barista.

"Why do you ask?" Jin was a little suspicious of where this was going, but he would play along until he knew it was fine. He handed back Namjoon's card after processing the payment. Turning to start preparing their drinks, he still kept enough attention on Namjoon.

"I would like to speak to you." Namjoon knew that he shouldn't just blurt the matter right here at the counter. That wouldn't be good to distract Jin too much while he was working.

Jin made a small hum as he wondered if he should spend his next break talking with the man who had come off as a major douche during their little blind date. After a short moment of silence, he gave an answer."Alright. We can talk." Then, he glanced over at Jimin before resuming to make the drinks."I'm assuming you want to talk to Jackson. Am I right?"

"Uh, yeah." Jimin knew there wasn't really a way of hiding that. Of course Jin would know."Is he here today?"

"He's in the back." Jin turned to face them with their drinks in his hands."I'll call him out here."

"Thanks." Jimin grabbed his strawberry frappuccino and eyed it for a second before stepping to the side with Namjoon. They couldn't just block other customers from getting to the counter."I hope this goes well."

Namjoon just simply shrugged his shoulders while taking a sip of his iced coffee. Then, he shifted his gaze around a little."It'll be fine. Anyway, I'm going to sit somewhere while you talk to that Jackson guy."

"Sounds good. Just wait patiently for Jin-hyung to let you know when he goes on his break." Jimin sipped at his frappuccino as he watched Namjoon walk away to find a vacant table. He swirled his straw around in his cup a bit as he waited for only a couple minutes.

"You want to speak to me, Jimin?" Jackson asked from behind the counter. He was making his way around to speak to Jimin properly.

Jimin turned to face Jackson, though he also glanced to the side to see that Jin had returned to keep serving customers."Yeah, if you have a minute to spare."

Jackson gave a small nod."Well, Jin-hyung is my supervisor and gave me permission to speak with you for a moment. So what do you need to talk about?" He had an idea but didn't want to assume. He was confirmed as right though when he heard the next words to come out of Jimin's mouth.

"About that night when we went to the bar with Yoongi-hyung." Despite being nervous, Jimin knew that he needed to say this."I just want to, well, apologize." He lowered his gaze to peer at the frappuccino in his hand. This felt like his own little personal version of stage fright."Jin-hyung is your boyfriend. I never should have slept with him. I know being drunk isn't a good excuse for my behavior. I'm really sorry."

" _Was_." Jackson corrected."Jin-hyung  _was_ my boyfriend. Don't worry, Jimin. I forgive you. Jin-hyung and I spoke about it, and I forgave him as well. What you two did...It hurt me." Even as he said this, there was a soft smile on his lips."I just couldn't bring myself to fault either of you though. I was hurt even before it happened. I liked Jin-hyung, but I think I never should have asked him out. It was a mistake."

Jimin lifted his gaze and could see that there was just a small hint of sadness--but also relief--in Jackson's expression."What do you mean?"

Jackson let out a sigh through his nose before continuing."Jin-hyung isn't into me. He only agreed to date me because I was the first person to ask him out after that blind date you had set up for him and your friend. I thought I was okay with that. I thought I could handle the fact that he was dating me while also seeing the way he looked at you. He denied it when I asked him, but it was obvious."

"You knew about his feelings for me, but you dated him anyway?" That didn't make sense to Jimin."Why would you do that?"

"I knew it was stupid, but inside, I hoped it would work out." Jackson peered over at Jin and seemed to smile just a little more."I mean, just look at him. He's handsome, caring, smart. Sure, he has a short fuse, and we sometimes lock horns, but Jin-hyung is the type of man who would make an excellent boyfriend. I thought I could win his feelings by being good to him, but feelings don't work that way. I think our attempt at dating disillusioned my feelings for him." He returned his gaze to Jimin."What you two did only made the inevitable breakup come sooner rather than later."

"So you two are doing okay?" Jimin didn't think he would be able to forgive himself if that drunk night made things bad between Jin and Jackson indefinitely.

"We're okay. We talked it out." Jackson was actually fine with the way things had turned out."Besides, Jin-hyung and I have actually become a little closer as friends because of that. It hurt us both, caused some awkwardness, but we fixed things by having a nice heart-to-heart chat."

That brought a smile to Jimin's lips."I'm really happy that things are okay between you two."

"Thanks." Jackson gave Jimin's shoulder a friendly pat."I have to get back to work, but I'm glad we had this talk."

Jimin watched Jackson make his way around to get behind the counter. Then, he made his way over to the small table where Namjoon was seated, sitting across from him."Now we just need to wait for Jin-hyung to have a break and speak with you."

"Yup." Namjoon leaned back a little in his chair."Let's hope this goes well because he did  _not_ look happy to see me."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Tall = 12oz / Venti = 20oz
> 
> **10167₩ is about 9USD / 12CND / 171MXN / 7.93€ / 6.79£ / 12.69AUD / 1003¥


End file.
